Getting Closer
by Monker
Summary: Who knew that drawing closer to Natalie would lead Monk closer and closer to solving Trudy's murder. When an unexpected attacker threatens someone close to Monk, he learns all of the pains and pleasures of Getting Closer. NOW COMPLETE!
1. Prologue

Title: Getting Closer.

Author: Monker

Rated: PG

Author's Note: I got the idea for this from Exhibit Q here at fanfiction…now ExhibitQ I need to tell you…this is not exactly what you gave me but I sort of tweaked it and mad it my own. So even you will have trouble guessing on this one. I would also like to thank my cousin and best friend on helping me work out the details. Anyway…on to that prolog!

PROLOGUE

Monk opened the all to familiar drawer of his desk and took out the file which he had been studying for over seven years. He took the file and placed it open on the desk. Now sitting before him were the pictures that haunted his memory…pictures of his tan ford, bent out of shape and charred black from the flames. As he pored through them he had that horrible thought that presented it's self to him all too often…that terrifying thought that his beloved Trudy was in the car as all of this was taking place. The terror that must have filled her mind, the dread of loosing her husband and the thought of him suffering without her.

Once again all of the thoughts, memories and feeling were too much for him. He had to get out of here. He faced the horrible truth that there was nothing else he could learn by looking at these files. He had to do some real investigation; he had to go to the garage.


	2. At The Garage

Adrian stared at the parking spot, which was black…whether it was from all the gasoline from the years or from Trudy's bomb Monk may never know. He looked at the spot intently, hoping that there would be some clue that would just jump out at him. As he was staring at the spot he saw a dark green stain on the cement. With nothing better to do he bent down as close to the ground as Adrian Monk could get, and sniffed the stain.

"It's just gas" Monk said with a disappointed scowl. "Well what were you expecting, Monk?" He asked himself.

Monk stood up again and continued to look at the parking spot. His eyes drifted to a place on the cement that was a little ways away from the parking spot. He noticed another dark green spot that was identical to the first, and another and another. He saw there was a trail that led to the parking garage's elevator. Once he got closer to the elevator, Monk once again bent down and sniffed the ground. The spot seemed to smell different this time. It no longer smelt like gasoline…Monk assumed that that was because it was no longer surrounded by gas stains but now it was all by its self. Adrian tried to determine the smell of the stain but could not.

Monk took a step into the elevator, took out his handkerchief and used it to hold the "door open" button. He looked on the floor and sure enough there was a dark green stain in the ugly carpet.

"Don't these people ever clean up around here?" He asked himself as he continued to look around the small elevating room. As Monk looked at the walls he saw a place where the light was shining on the wall at the perfect angle to see small dents in the wall as if someone was using it as a hard surface to write on. Monk walked closer to the wall and tried to read what it said.

All that Adrian could read was "Warrick". Monk's eyes shot open as he remembered that Warrick was the name of the man who made the bomb.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Stottlemeyer stared at the T.V. and rolled his eyes.

"They come up with the most ridiculous shows now in days. I mean what about this is reality? If they were ever to make a real reality show it would be some guy named Bob going to work, sitting at a desk, filing things and making copies…then it would show him coming home, paying the bills and watching basketball till he fell asleep on the couch." Just then the phone rang. "Oh thank goodness!" Stottlemeyer said as he gladly flipped off the T.V. and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Captain! I'm glad I got you!"

"What is it Monk?"

"I found a clue!"

"To what Monk? I don't have you on a case right now."

"I know that Captain." Monk said. "It's a clue to the Trudy case!"

Stottlemeyer sat up strait in his chair at the news. "WHAT?"

Monk laughed a 'monkish' like laugh. "I felt the same way, which is why I need you here."

"Ok! Well where is 'here'?"

"I'm at the garage! Hurry!"

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"Here Monk." Stottlemeyer said handing Monk a piece of paper. "We ran a test on that stain."

Monk took the paper and started reading.

"What was it?" Natalie asked as she tried to read over Monk's shoulder.

"It was some kind of acid used to power batteries…we believe that the acid might have been used for the battery in the bomb."

Monk looked up at Stottlemeyer and then slowly dropped his eyes back to the piece of paper in his hand.

Just then Randy came up with another piece of paper in his hand. "Captain. We did a rub off of those dents in the elevator."

Stottlemeyer snatched the piece of paper from Disher and looked at it. "It looks like our man used the wall to write a check." Stottlemeyer said handing it to Monk.

Adrian looked at the paper that read:

10/5/96 Warrick Tennyson 10,000 Ten Thousand

Monk had a sharp pain go up his spine when he read that his wife's life was only worth $10,000. Someday this person would pay.

"You might have noticed that the signature was a bit hard to read. " Randy said. "I can take it to the lab and have them check it out."

"You do that" Stottlemeyer said taking the piece of paper and handing it to Disher.

Monk had a very sad expression on his face. "Mr. Monk…are you ok?" Natalie asked as she reached behind him and began rubbing his back.

"Ten Thousand Dollars……..My wife…was worth Ten………..Thousand…Dollars." Monk said and then lifted his head to look at Natalie. "They put a price of Ten Thousand Dollars on my wife's life."

Natalie saw the pain in his eyes. "I'm sorry Mr. Monk." She didn't know why she was apologizing…but 'I'm sorry' was the only thing she could say.

Monk nodded "Yeah…" He said. "…Me too."


	3. Pizza Men & Cockroaches

Guys I know this might sound weird or stupid to some of you but I am dedicating this story to my dog that I had for over 11 years that was killed two nights ago. So Duffy…this ones for you.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Natalie walked into the living room where her daughter was sitting in front of the T.V.

"What ya watchin?"

"Forever Young." Julie responded, not looking away from the T.V.

Natalie smiled and shook her head. "You and your love stories."

"Can I help it if Mel Gibson is the greatest actor alive?"

"I would bet you have seen every Mel Gibson movie out there." Natalie teased her daughter.

"Except all the Lethal Weapons." Julie commented.

"Yeah and there is no way you are ever gonna see them."

"I don't get why not."

"Because T.V. doesn't always bleep out the swear words…Speaking of which…what is this rated?"

Julie thought for a moment. "umm I think PG."

"Ok."

Just then the phone rang and Natalie got up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Natalie!" Monk's terrified voice said on the other end.

"What's wrong Mr. Monk?"

"Co-co-cock-" Adrian stuttered.

"Mr. Monk just spit it out."

"Cockroach! There is a COCKROACH in my room! RIGHT BY MY BED!"

"Mr. Monk just kill it."

"I cant 'just kill it' haven't you heard the stories? Cockroach's don't die!" Monk said as the stood on top of his chair.

"Well what do you want me to do about it!"

"I want you to catch it."

"eww no. I don't wanna touch a cockroach."

"Natalie………..please."

Natalie sighed. There was no way she was gonna win this one. "Ok Mr. Monk I'll be right there."

"Thank you, bye."

"Bye." She said as she hung up the phone.

"Julie we're going to Mr. Monk's house. Come on."

"Mom can I just stay here? The Movie is almost over."

"ok…lock the door behind me."

"Right." Julie said still looking at the T.V.

Natalie left and Julie did as she was told and locked the door behind her.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Natalie walked into Monk's bedroom. She saw Adrian standing on the chair with a pail face.

"Ok where is it?" she asked.

Monk pointed and she walked to the other side of the bed.

"I don't see it."

" It's right there!" Monk said still pointing.

Natalie looked at where he was pointing and started to laugh. "Mr. Monk…" She said picking up the 'cockroach'…she held it out to him.

"Ahhh! Natalie what are you doing! Get that thing away from me!" Monk said leaning against the wall to get as far away from the 'cockroach' as possible.

"Mr. Monk it's a rollie-pollie."

"I don't think so."

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Julie stared at the T.V. Then she heard a knock at the door. "Mom must be home."

Julie got up and walked to the door and looked through the peephole. She saw a man holding a pizza box.

"Who is it?" Julie asked through the door.

"Pizza man!" The man answered.

Julie opened the door a crack but kept the chain lock in place. "We didn't order any pizza."

"Well lets see here…" The man said as he looked at the small piece of paper on top of the pizza box. "…is your name Teeger?"

"Well yeah but- " Julie started to say but was cut off.

"Listen. Is your mom or dad at home? Can I talk to them."

"Not right now."

Then the man kicked the door open and it came flying into Julie throwing her onto the floor and knocking her out.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Please review with that little button down there. I'm trying to break my record of 64 reviews but I need some help.


	4. Back and Fourth

Sorry the chapter is so short. Haven't really felt much like writing lately.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Natalie pulled into her driveway. She looked and saw that the door was open. Just then she had this horrible pain shoot up her spine and into her head, the pain that one gets when they know something terrible have happened to one they love. She jumped out of the car and ran into the house.

"Julie?" She called out. "Julie!" She ran into the living room and looked at the T.V. that read _'You are watching an encore presentation of Forever Young'_. Natalie ran all though the house screaming her daughters name the whole way. She looked in her bedroom, Julie's bedroom, both bathrooms, kitchen, den, living room, and even the garage and couldn't find her anywhere.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Monk got up and answered the door to find Natalie in tears.

"Natalie what's wrong?" Adrian asked with eyes full of concern.

"You're what's wrong! It's all your fault!" Natalie said as she walked towards him and started punching him in the chest.

It didn't hurt but Monk was still shocked. What could possibly have happened in the time Natalie was home to make her act this way? "What are you talking about?" He asked as he tried to get her to stop hitting him and talk.

"If it weren't for you and your STUPID fears I would still have my daughter!"

Adrian grabbed her hands and forced them to her side. Natalie just put her head on his chest and kept sobbing. Monk let go of her fists and wrapped his arms around her and she did the same to him.

"What happened Natalie?" Monk asked in a soft voice.

Natalie dropped to her knees and Monk followed but kept hugging. Even though physical touch was at the top of Monk's 'uncomfortable list'…the fact that he and Natalie were so…close…didn't seem to bother him at all…in fact…getting coodies was the very least of his concerns at the moment.

"Natalie look at me." He said pinching her chin and bringing her eyes to him. "Where is Julie?"

Natalie's face wrinkled up as she said, "I don't know." Then she started bawling again.

Monk felt like crying when he heard that she didn't know where her daughter was but he knew that every day Natalie was always the strong one out of the two, and she always took care of him when he needed her. He knew that he needed to be the strong one this time and take care of her cause she needed him.

"Oh Natalie." He said as he pulled her in once again for another warm embrace. They stayed that way for at least 30 minutes. Monk merely rocked the both of them back and fourth…back and fourth.

After a while Natalie felt better but she knew that if she showed it then Monk would let go and she didn't want that to happen. She really felt safe in his arms like nothing could harm her and no bad thoughts could reach her mind. All she wanted right now (besides her daughter back) was to be held.

Then Monk broke the silence but not the hug. "Natalie…I need you to talk to me…what happened when you went home?"

Natalie sniffled and began. "I don't know…all I know is when I got home the door was open and…there was nobody in it."

"Did you see anything that might tell us who it was that opened the door?"

"No Adrian…I…wasn't really focused on that." Natalie said but then started to cry again.

"I know. Ok. Shhhh. Shhhhhhh…its ok." Monk said with a soothing voice as he kept slowly rocking her back and fourth…back and fourth.

'_I think that's the first time she has ever called me Adrian.'_ Monk noted silently in his head.

"I checked every where. She wasn't there."

"What did you see when you walked in?" Monk questioned.

"………………The T.V. was on."

"Was it something that you think Julie would be watching?"

"Yeah…it was Forever Young. She was watching as I left to help you."

Monk couldn't help but feel guilty. Natalie was right…if it weren't for him and his phobias Natalie would have been home to protect Julie. Unless who ever it was had gotten Natalie too. Monk could bear to think of that.

"She must be so frightened." Natalie said.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Ok just so I don't get any bad reviews from fact checkers. I know that that wasn't really the first time Natalie ever called Monk by his first name. The real first time was on the epilogue of Mr. Monk gets Drunk. But I figured thatsince Monk was unconscious at that moment he probably wouldn't have remembered anyway.

REVIEW!


	5. Meeting Bob

The part in this chapter about Abraham Lincoln is actually from an episode of AIO (adventures in odyssey) called the perfect witness part 1,2 and 3. (JesusFreak87 I highly recommend that episode if you have not yet heard it…it is my favorite)

NOW ON TO THE STORY!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Julie sat on the floor of a blue pick up truck with her hands bound and her mouth closed with tape. Julie squirmed and made noises, struggling with the ropes and the tape.

"Alright, alright. Calm down kid! Your gonna hurt yourself." The kidnapper said to her. "Look…if I take off the tape will you promise to be quiet?"

Julie nodded.

"You swear? Cause I don't wanna take off the tape if your gonna start crying."

Julie gave him an 'are you kidding?' look.

"Ok so you're not a crier…either way if I take this off how do I know your not gonna start screaming for help?"

Julie hiked her shoulders.

The kidnapper sighed. "I should know better then this." He said as he ripped the tape off of her mouth.

"Oww!" Julie said as she moved her mouth around to try and get it to not hurt as much.

"Sorry…you ok?" He asked.

"Yeah…………thanks," Julie was shocked. She had always had those bad dreams where she would be kidnapped and thrown into some dungeon with only bread and water to eat and drink...never in the dreams did the kidnapper apologies then ask if she were ok.

"Say…what's your name anyway?"

"Abraham Lincoln."

The man laughed softly. "That's pretty funny kid. You should be a comedian."

Julie said nothing.

The man turned his head and looked at her "What? wont you say anything?"

Julie thought for a moment… "Four score and seven years ago," she said.

Once again the man driving started to laugh "Man kid you're a hoot!"

Then Julie remembered "RACHEL!" She said, "Rachel's my name"

The man looked at her...smiled them nodded, "Ok," He said. "Rachel…well hi there Rachel…it's…uh nice to meet you."

"Yeah uh what ever…so what's your name?"

"Something tells me I shouldn't tell you…but you can call me…" He thought about it then said, "…Bob."

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

I know its short but oh well.

I know that Bob might sound pretty nice but remember…he's the bad guy here…so don't start to like him!

Misha: The part I was telling you about is coming in the next chapter.


	6. Adrian's Secret

Leland awoke from the noise and looked at the clock.

"4:37? Who the heck is calling me at 4:37 in the morning?" Stottlemeyer said as he reached for the phone. "Hello?" He said.

"Is this Stottlemeyer?"

"Who's askin?"

"Just shut up and listen cop! I want you to call off the investigation!"

"Listen pal I don't know who you are and I don't care who you are but there is no way I am going to call off any case just because some idiot calling me at 4 o'clock in the morning says to."

"Alright copie, be a wise guy. But if I read in the papers that you still haven't called off the case then Rachel's dead!"

Then the line went dead. Leland held out the phone in front of him and looked at it. "What the heck is going on here?"

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Monk and Natalie walked into the precinct and found Stottlemeyer and Randy. Disher was taking notes on all that he heard from his captain.

"Captain we really need to talk to you." Natalie said as she and Monk approached them.

"Hold on Natalie." Stottlemeyer said waving his hand as if to dismiss the interruption.

Natalie turned and gave Monk a 'help me' look. Adrian nodded and walked up to Leland.

"Captain, I really think you should listen to Natalie."

Stottlemeyer noted that Monk was using his 'serious face' so he nodded and turned to look at Natalie.

"Ok and while he does that I need you to take a look at these notes the Captain was giving me." Randy said as he handed the note pad to Monk. Adrian began to read through them as Natalie explained what happened.

"Last night I was at home with Julie and she was watching T.V. when I got a phone call from Mr. Monk asking me to come over…"

Monk could feel a sharp pain of guilt as he heard his least favorite part of the story from Natalie. He didn't know if he could ever get over the fact that it was his fault the Julie was missing in the first place. Adrian slowly let his eyes fall back to the note pad in his hands as Natalie continued.

"…So I asked Julie if she wanted to come but then she said that she didn't want to because her movie was almost over and it was Forever Young and she loves that movie because she loves Mel Gibson and he's in that mov-"

"Natalie finish your story." Stottlemeyer commanded.

"Right sorry." She said as she took a deep breath. "Ok…when I came back she was gone."

Stottlemeyer turned his head but still looked at her out of the corner of his eye with his eyebrows down. "What do you mean she was gone?"

"I mean when I came back the door was open and the T.V. was on but Julie wasn't there!" Natalie said as she began to cry.

Monk brought up his head from the pad and looked at his friend in tears. He set the pad on the nearest desk and walked over to Natalie. He grabbed her on both shoulders and brought his head down so he could see her face though she was trying to cover it with her hands. "Natalie?" He began. "Everything's gonna be alright. Right?" _no answer _"Right?" He pressed.

"…………Right." Natalie finally said through the tears.

Adrian brought out his white handkerchief and started brushing away the tears that had all gathered at the bottom of her chin and in streaks down her red cheeks.

"Monk." Randy interrupted. "What did you think about the call?"

"What call?" Natalie asked as she sniffed in a couple of times.

"Oh some lunatic called me up at 4 o'clock this morning threatening me"

"What did he want?" Natalie questioned.

"He wanted me to close a case. The problem is that he didn't specify which case he wanted called off." Leland said.

"What else did he say?" Monk inquired.

"He said that if I didn't then Rachel would be dead."

"Do you know anyone named Rachel?" Adrian asked.

"No that's the thing. I don't know who the heck he was talking about."

That was when Natalie remembered something. "OH my gosh!" she said with a shaky voice.

Monk turned his head and looked at her "What is it?"

"Rachel!.…That's Julie!"

"What?" the three men said in unison.

"Julie and I had a bunch of safety plans and I always told her that if she was in trouble and a bad person ever asked her what her name is…I always told her never to give her real name and to always say that its Rachel. It's Julie! That creep has Julie!" Natalie grabbed her purse and started quickly walking towards the door.

Monk, Randy and Stottlemeyer all looked at each other then quickly followed Natalie.

"Natalie where are you going?" Disher asked as he and his captain along with Monk tried to catch up to the woman ahead of them.

"I have to find her!" Natalie said.

"Natalie your going about this the wrong way…look come back to my office and we can help you look for her the right way." Stottlemeyer said. By this time they had all caught up and were now trying to keep the same pace as Natalie.

"Natalie you need to calm down." Monk said.

"No Adrian! Don't tell me to calm down! You don't have the right to tell me to calm down! Ok? You've never been a parent, you don't know what it feels like to loose a child!"

Monk stopped walking as he heard this and watched the rest of them walk away as he said. "D-d-don't say that…"

Natalie, Leland and Randy all stopped and turned to look at Monk.

Monk shifted his wait uncomfortably and cocked his head. "………..That's…that's…not true."

"What?" Stottlemeyer asked as he walked slowly towards Monk.

"…I…I had a child………once… a long time ago."

"Tommy doesn't count Mr. Monk," Natalie said with rolling eyes.

"I'm not talking about Tommy." Monk said with his eyes closed and rubbing his head.

"So wait your telling me that you had a kid that I never knew about?" Leland asked with frowning eyebrows.

Monk nodded. "I'm telling you that I had…a child that n-no one knew about."

"What are we talking here, out of wedlock?" Randy asked.

"No of course not." Adrian said shaking his head and hiking his shoulder.

"Ok so where is this kid now." Natalie asked.

Monk said nothing for a while...…then he said. "West park cemetery"

Stottlemeyer sighed as Randy shook his head and looked at the ground. "Oh Mr. Monk I am so sorry." Natalie said as she reached behind him and rubbed his back.

"How'd it happen?" Randy asked.

Monk looked at him and said, "car bomb."

"Trudy's?"

Monk nodded.

"Monk that's impossible. We ran tests, she was in the car alone." Stottlemeyer stated unbelievingly.

"Well yes…and no." Monk said

"How old was it?"

Monk looked at the ground and waited a very long time before saying anything. "...……………….5 days since conceived."

No one said anything for a while, as Monk was feeling very uncomfortable he decided that he would rather have not said anything.

"So to correct your previous statement, yes I have been a parent and yes I know what it feels like to loose one." Monk said as he pushed his way through the small group of friends in front of him and kept walking.


	7. Time to Think

"Sorry to keep you waiting Adrian, I had to take a call." Dr. Kroger said as he entered to room and sat down.

"It's alright I don't mind."

Dr. Kroger looked hard at Monk, and then brought out his note pad. "You didn't mind? A-a-Adrian that's not like you."

"What to you mean."

"I mean that usually when I am late you…well you usually aren't very happy with me."

Adrian considered this, "Well it gave me time to think." He said.

"Oh I see………think about what?"

"Oh you know." Monk began. "Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

Adrian said nothing.

"Did this stuff involve you?"

Monk nodded.

"…And Trudy?" Kroger inquired.

"Yeah." Adrian replied.

"And……………your child."

Monk looked at his Doctor and frowned. "Does Natalie tell you everything?" he asked.

Charles thought about it then said, "Only the things she thinks I need to know."

Monk sighed and sat back in his chair. "See? I knew this would happen."

"Y-you knew…what would happen?"

"This. I knew once they knew people would start talking about it."

"Well Adrian how are we not to talk about it? I-it's big news."

"Its old news" Adrian corrected.

"Well to you maybe but not t-t-to those who know you…………why have you not said anything before?"

"Because……I didn't want to talk about it…and I still don't."

"Why not?"

"I don't know." Monk said with a shrug.

"Oh, I think you do." Kroger said looking hard at Monk.

"………………Because…I didn't want to be reminded. It hurts…really…really bad."

The doctor nodded a little, "I believe you." He said.

"I didn't even know. Neither did Trudy. After she went through the coroner's office the man who did the autopsy asked to speak with me alone and it was then that he told me how he found the fetus still in her body. I asked him to keep it a secret. I didn't want anyone to know

…………Five days……it had only lived…five days."

Dr. Kroger looked down shaking his head. "I'm so sorry Adrian."

"Trudy always wanted kids. I never…felt ready. She used to tell me…that she would take me anyway she could get me…with or without kids. It's funny," Monk said with a fake laugh, "The one time I finally give her what she asked for…and she can never even have it."

There was a very log pause because Adrian was sick of talking and his doctor didn't know what to say. So they just sat there as Monk tried to keep as many tears from slipping in between his lashed as he could (though he was failing). As Adrian wept silently Dr. Kroger stared at the blank sheet in front of him trying to think of something to write down, but all words seemed to escape him during this time of sorrow for his friend. Finally Monk spoke…

"It killed me to hear that I had not only lost a wife but a child that I never knew. No one has ever felt pain until the feel what I've felt…which I pray is never the case for anyone…ever. Cause it hurts………like nothing you have ever felt before." Then Monk broke down and started to cry with everything he had.

It was then that Dr. Kroger did something that he had never done before in all his days as a therapist…he stood from his chair and walked over to Monk, He bent down and hugged him. Charles could help but cry. Now seeing how badly this man wanted a child, Dr. Kroger regretted every telling Monk the he was not fit to be the father of Tommy.

After the hour was up Natalie watched as both Monk and Dr. Kroger came to the door. Natalie noticed that both of the were red around the eyes _'Gee I wonder what they talked about.'_ Natalie asked sarcastically in her head. "Ready to go home Mr. Monk?"

Monk nodded. "yeah."

"See you next Wednesday Adrian." Charles said then closed the door and then started to walk back to his office to do some paper work. "That poor man."


	8. That was Never Part of the Plan

Monk answered his door. "Captain what are you doing here?" Monk asked.

"Natalie sent me to come pick you up."

"Why?"

"She said that she was probably going to be late. She has this meeting with Julie's teachers to explain what happened…and that's all I know" Leland then cocked his head backwards and said, "Come on my car's still running."

"Seatbelt check." Monk said as he sat down in the car and jiggled his friend's seatbelt buckle.

"Monk I don't need a 'seatbelt check' I'm a police officer of course I have my seatbelt on."

"Right sorry." Monk said.

The two of them rode silently until Stottlemeyer asked a very random question.

"Monk have you and Natalie got a thing goin on?"

"What?"

"Do you have a thing for Natalie?"

Monk thought about it then said. "Natalie's an extraordinary woman."

"That's true…she is…but that's not that I asked."

"I'm not sure I understand the question."

"Oh come off it Monk you understand fine. You just don't want to tell me that you do have a thing for Natalie."

"What kind of thing?"

"A romantic thing!"

Monk's eyes shot open at this and his face turned a light shade of pink.

Stottlemeyer glanced at his friend and when he saw the blush on his face he smiled. "we've all noticed it."

"Noticed what?" Monk asked.

"How you guys look at each other for one thing."

"You're mistaken. Natalie and I are friends…nothing more." Monk said shaking his head and looking out the window.

"Well I know that." Leland said and then cleared his throat because it cracked when he said the word 'I' "What I wanna know is if you ever wished it was more then a friendship."

Monk gulped. "No."

"Really?"

Monk nodded.

"Then how do you explain the blush all over your face?" Leland said with a smile.

"I'm not blushing." Monk insisted.

"Take a look in the mirror pal."

Monk looked in the mirror and saw that his face was indeed red.

"Look Adrian…you like her right?"

Monk nodded.

"And we just established that you want her to be more then just a friend with you, right?"

Monk gulped and nodded.

"Then you have to pursue her."

"Well how that heck am I supposed to do that?" Monk asked with a helpless look on his face.

"You have to learn how to be charming." Stottlemeyer said with a grin.

Monk sighed. "Oh boy……why do I think this is going to be a long and painful process?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Julie looked around her. Bob had been keeping her in the basement tied up to one of the small pillars that were supporting the floor above. _'You know for a kidnapper he really isn't that mean. He asks me where I wanna eat everyday and normally its either KFC or sonic cause they're the only things we can agree on. I'm so lonely. Bob only ever comes down here to give me food or to ask if I had to go to the bathroom and besides that I never get to see anyone. I wonder what mom is doing…I hope she's not scared. Its ok though…Mr. Monk can find anyone…of course he'll find me.' _

Just then Julie heard the phone ring up stairs. She listened as she heard Bob pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

pause

"yeah I got the kid."

Pause

"look man……..I don't like this."

short pause

"because never in the deal was there any kidnapping. That's not what I do. I never agreed to this! I don't do kids!"

pause

"Well I know that! Look man when you came to me and said you had a job to be done I had no problem with that, I made a few calls and it got done! But you never said anything about kidnapping some girl!"

pause

"I don't wanna do this no more man! Hello? …………. Hello?"

Julie heard him cuss as he slammed the phone back on its hook. Then she heard foot steps come down the stairs.

"Here kid. Eat up." Bob said as he placed the food in front of Julie and walked behind her to untie her hands.

"Chicken again?" Julie wined. "It's getting old, Bob."

"Shut up Rachel! You eat what give you! ait? With that attitude your lucky if I give you any food!"

"Fine man chill out. I'm sorry ok?" Julie said tensing up.

Bob sighed. "Yeah whad'ever. Listen Rach I'm not in the greatest mood right now." He said as he brought his hands to his face.

For the first time in 4 days Julie finally got a good look at his hands and noticed something weird. "Hey Bob?" She asked

"What?"

"Why do you have six fingers on that hand?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

BUM BUM BUMMMMMMMMM!

There it is folks the long chapter of your dreams. I hope you enjoyed.

I promise I will update soon. As long as you review soon.


	9. Signs of Fear

"Hey Bob?" Julie asked.

"What?"

"Why do you have six fingers on that hand?"

Bob gave her a look that convinced Julie that she should have kept her big mouth shut and not have brought it up. He grabbed the plastic plate and through it against the wall. Leaving splatters of mashed-potatoes and gravy and coleslaw on the wall. Julie felt a painful shock go through her upper arm as he roughly grabbed her hands and forced them behind the pillar for a re-tying. He stomped up the stairs and slammed the door.

"Bob! Bob come back! I'm sorry I didn't mean it! I don't care about your hand!"

Bob opened the door. "Shut up or I'll find something to gag you with!" he said before slamming the door again.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

About half an hour later there was a knock at Bob's door. He got up to answer it but before he did, he looked through the peephole and his eyes widened when he saw the uniformed cop standing outside his door. He turned up his stereo and ran down stairs.

Julie looked up as he practically leaped down the stairs. "What are you doing?" She asked as he untied her.

His hand flew over her mouth as he lifted her up and walked her over to the closet. After he threw her in he grabbed her face and wagged a finger at her. "Rachel," He said. "I swear if you make one single noise. I am getting my knife and I will kill you. I swear I will." He said right before he tied one of his uglier ties around her head and through her mouth. Then he closed the door and ran up the stairs.

"Sir! Let me in, this is the police!" The angry man on the other side of the door said just before Bob opened it.

"Hey. Sorry about the wait. I guess I couldn't hear you. The stereo must have been to loud." He said pointing the remote control at his stereo and turning it down cause it was blearing so loud that it probably would have made a man with a toupee go bald again. "Can I help you with anything officer?" He asked as he tried to look as innocent as possible without looking guilty.

The officer brought down his already low eyebrows and stared at Bob while nodding his head slightly. "Some neighbors heard yelling and got concerned."

'_Stupid neighbors should mind their own freaken business and stop caring so much.'_ Bob noted silently in his head without showing any trace of thought on his face.

"Sir can I take a look around?" The policeman asked.

Bob hiked his shoulders, "sure why not?"

It wasn't long before the officer wanted to see the basement so Bob silently lead him down the stairs. The officer looked around. "The walls are a bit messy." He stated pointing to the wall.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Julie leaned against the door to listen to what was going on. Though every bone in her body was telling her to scream for her life she was so terrified that if she made a noise then the next thing she would see would be Bob with a knife. And she couldn't bare the thought of someone telling her mom that she had died. So she kept her mouth shut.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Bob turned and saw the mess he had made earlier. "Oh that. Yeah well you know how crazy those football parties can get."

The policeman looked concerned. "Son, football wasn't on last night."

"Oh it wasn't last night. It was earlier this morning." Bob said hoping that story would fly.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

'_Come on Julie. You've got to say something. If you don't then you might not ever see your mom again.'_ She told her self in her head.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

The officer looked around the room. "Where's the T.V.?"

"We used the one from upstairs and put it back once we were done." Bob said pointing towards the stairs.

"That was tidy of you."

"Yes sir."

"Pretty big T.V. how'd it fit down the stairs?"

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

'_But if you do say something then you're sure not going to ever see your mom again.' _

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"That's an excellent question," Bob started. " And to be perfectly honest…I have no idea. But it did…I can assure you of that."

The policeman nodded as his eyes continued to search the room.

"Now." Bob began. "If you have no other questions then I wish you would excuse me cause I have some things to do."

"Right." The officer said as the two of them started back up the stairs.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

'_Its now or never.' _Julie thought……………………then…she started screaming and pounding on the door. And she would have gotten their attention too…that is…if the vibration of her pounding hadn't raddled the shelf above her causing a heavy box to fall on her head, knocking her out and causing her head to bleed.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

The officer stopped and held up his hand. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what, sir?"

"I thought I heard something."

"I didn't hear anything."

The officer opened the door and walked down the stairs again. He looked around the room again but what ever it was that he heard had stopped abruptly, as if something had silenced it.

"I'm sure it was nothing." Bob said leading the policeman back up the stairs. But he did send a bad look towards the closet door when he knew the policeman wasn't looking at him. _'Bad move kid…bad move'_

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"Hey." Monk said walking over to his couch and grabbing four coasters for his and Natalie's tea that he had made. "You ok?"

Natalie looked up. His voice had brought her back from another one of her frightening daydreams. "Yeah…yeah fine. Why?"

Monk sat down next to her and she moved her feet as to give him room. "Nothing." He said, "its just you had that look again."

"What look?"

"The only look I've ever seen on your face that shows any signs of fear."

Normally she wouldn't allow this kind of talk out of anyone. But she knew that it was Monk who was talking, and that he was only trying to be of some help. "You think I'm afraid?"

Monk nodded. "But…I want you to know…that I have no problem with you being afraid. I understand………at least I'm trying to. So if you're afraid…I'm telling you that's ok."

She smiled at him and grabbed the side of his face. "Your so sweet Adrian. Thank you."

Instead of twitching at her touch…he simply inhaled, smiled (smirked) and nodded.

Just then there was a high-pitched squeak. "That's the tea." Monk said quickly standing up and going to the kitchen. Monk reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a series of small cards that Stottlemeyer had made for him.

_Be kind…_

_Be gentle…_

_Look in her eyes…_

_Use any excuse to touch her…_

_Use big words…_

_Talk about music…_

_Comfort her if she is upset…_

_Ki-_

Monk's eyes drew wide. _'That one comes later.'_ He thought as he set that one down on the counter before him.

_Share interests…_

_Make jokes…_

Monk thought about it. _'Better not. I'm not really good at jokes.'_

_Complement everything…_

_Kiss hand…_

Monk also thought about this one. _'Well I suppose that if I had to kiss her then the easiest thing to kiss would be the hand.' _Monk then put all the cards (except the one that should 'come later') back in his pocket and grabbed the teapot and the cups.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"Hey, what took you so long?" Natalie asked with a kind smile.

"I uhh…" _'Come on Monk think of something!'_ "I uhh…I dropped something."

"Really?"

"…on my leg."

"I didn't hear anything."

"W-well I sort of caught it before it hit the ground."

"You were sitting down?"

"No…well…yeah a little."

Natalie laughed, "How can you sit down 'a little'?" She asked.

"Well it was sort of a squat." Monk said as he tried to demonstrate while holding two cups and a teapot, a sight that nearly had Natalie cracking up. But she held it in so as to not embarrass her employer.

Monk cleared his throat and began preparing the glasses of tea. He slowly passed one of the cups to Natalie.

"Thank you." She said politely.

He just smiled that boyish smile of his and gave her a little nod. Before taking her first sip she looked over at him, "Hey Monk…" she began. "You're looking pretty hot."

Monk, who was taking his first sip, nearly coughed it all up upon hearing this statement. With wide eyes and a few coughs he gently set down his cup. "Excuse me?"

It was this reaction that made her realize what that must have sounded like. "No-no. I didn't mean that."

Monk's face slightly dropped, but not to the point that she noticed his change of expression.

"I was just saying that you were sweating. Is something the matter?"

Monk looked down at himself and sure enough…he was sweating. "Oh…no-no nothings the matter I guess its just the tea. You know…drinking warm liquids gets the inner body warm causing the outer body to produce moister…you know…sweat."

Natalie smiled and nodded her head. She picked up her cup and went to go take a sip.

"Be careful, its hot." Monk warned, but was too late. Natalie quickly jerked the cup away from her and in the process caused the hot liquid inside to spill over on to her hand.

"Ouch!" She yelled as she set down the cup and grabbed her hand in pain.

"Ooh! Stay there! I'll be right back." Adrian said as he darted into the kitchen. "Hold on!" he yelled from the kitchen as he grabbed an ice cube and ran back into the living room. He knelt before her, grabbed her hand and pulled in to him. He placed the cube on her hand.

"oooo!" she yelped as she pulled away her hand. "That's cold!"

Monk looked up and her and pulled her hand back to him. "Sorry, It's the warmest ice cube I could find." He said sarcastically as he once again began to doctor the burn.

"Adrian…you made a joke." Natalie said with a smile.

Monk looked up. _'Hey what do ya know…I did. Well consider that card done. Hey I'm touching her too! That's two with one blow. What's next…oh yeah kiss her hand.'_

Monk looked down at her hand and brought down his head too kiss it. This action was not greatly accepted by Natalie, due to shock so she started squirming her hand around trying to leave his grasp. "What are you doing?" She asked with wide eyes.

"I'm trying to kiss you, hold still!" Monk said as his head was also bobbing up and down trying to touch her hand with his lips.

"Oh………ok fine." She said, steadying her hand.

He smirked at her and bowed his head to her hand and gently kissed it and then he started to blow softly on it.

Natalie smiled at the out-of-nowhere gesture and brought her free hand up to her mouth. "It burned my tongue too."

Monk brought up his head and stared at her for 4 seconds with mouth closed and without blinking before shaking his head softly and saying, "I wont kiss that."

Natalie's eyes grew wide. But she just laughed it off. "Don't worry Mr. Monk…I didn't expect you to."

Adrian also laughed softly and stood up to sit next to her on the couch.

The two of them talked for another 2 hours or so. Natalie appreciated how dedicated of a friend he was to her. She talked to a lot of people about Julie and all they seemed to say was things like 'she'll be fine' and 'you should go home and get some rest'. She didn't need rest…she needed someone…anyone to just talk to her, get her mind off of her worries. She needed Mitch. She needed him to hold her and tell her things will work out. Oh well…at least she had him…though she knew that he would never snuggle with her…or wrap his arms around her and kiss her softly, thank goodness…that would be to awkward………or would it? Either way…Adrian Monk was just what she needed. He could talk to her and make her laugh. He could even be charming in the times that she needed it. He was, without a shadow of a doubt, the best friend she had ever had. And she knew he would stay that way for a long…long time.

After a while Natalie looked down at her hand. "Its still hurting."

Monks eyes fell to the red burn on her hand. He gabbed it gently and pulled her to her feet. "Come on," he said, "I have more ice in the kitchen."

She smiled. "Even more of the warm kind?"

"Yes…even more of the warm kind," he said as he returned the smile.

Still holding her hand, he gently guided her into the kitchen. "Here, sit down."

But instead of sitting Natalie walked over to the counter. "Adrian…" she began, "…why to you have a little card on your counter that says 'Kiss often'?"

Monk brought up his head with eyes wide open. _'Aw craps! How did that get there? I thought I put 'em back in my pocket!' _Monk turned around and picked up the card quickly. He then ripped it up and threw it in the garbage. "Never mind that," he said as he placed another ice cube on her burn.

Natalie laughed at his sudden 'kiss related' secret. She watched as he carefully cared for her hand.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

On the drive home, Natalie began to think…about…well everything, mostly about her daughter (surprise, surprise). She was so scared, which was a big deal for her. She had always been the tough one. She hardly ever felt fear and in the rare scenario of her actually feeling fear, she would never show it. No, this was a whole sensation for her. She thought about Monk…and how he was so helpful just by being a friend. It was strange…because normally it was she who was taking care of him…now everything was reversed. Now he was the one helping her get through her fears.

She respected him for that. She was grateful that he would take such an interest in her. Though he was like a child at times…he also had a gentleness and sincerity about him that made a woman feel safe. _'Trudy must have loved him so much for that.'_ She thought, _'He's so kind and gentile. Sweet and calm'_ well…maybe not calm…he was known to be a bit of a 'freak out' at times. But all together…she loved him for what he was.

Natalie's car came to a dead stop in the middle of the silent road. _'Love?' _she repeated to herself silently. Had she really just used that word in her own thoughts…about Monk…Adrian Monk? It was something that she had never considered before. Could she feel more for her boss then friendship and sympathy? These were the nagging questions that caused her to put her car in reverse, back up, and then make an illegal U turn and head back to Monk's house.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Ok guys, there…did you think that was a longer chapter? I hope you liked this chapter. I'm so sorry it took me so long to get it up here but I was having a hard time writing it.

Authors Note: When Natalie finds the 'kiss often' card on his counter…Monk says a fraise that I got from my brother-in-law. He (my brother-in-law) says 'aw craps' so often! I had never heard it before and I liked it. It's kinda catchy. So I decided to put it in one of my chapters…this just so happened to be that chapter. So…that line is dedicated to Fro.

The next chapter is coming so sit tight and REVIEW!


	10. 3 and a half seconds

Hey guys! Monker here! I am going out of town for a bit…so this might be the last chapter for a little while. Cause when I get back I have to have time to finish writing the next chapter and I still have to get it proofed read by my sister and still post it! So I'm sorry for the wait.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Monk brought his head up from the sink (he had been brushing his teeth when he thought he heard a three knocks at his door)…he waited…_knock knock knock knock_ he wiped his mouth and walked down his hall towards the door.

"Natalie, what is it…did you leave something?" he asked as he opened the door wider to let her in and turned around and started walking back towards his bathroom…what ever it was she wanted couldn't possibly be more important then his dental hygiene!

"Not exac-" She began but was cut off.

"Well what ever it was could you lock the door behind you when you leave?" Monk asked as he started to turn the corner.

"Wait! Adrian!" she shouted right before he was out of view.

A puzzled Adrian Monk took a few steps back and turned around. "Yes?" he said slightly annoyed.

"Adrian I need to talk to you."

"How important is this?"

"Very."

"Is it important enough that it cant wait for 5 minutes?"

"5 minutes? For what?"

"My teeth."

Natalie shook her head in confusion, "What?"

"I was just about to start with the flossing when you knocked…7 times."

Natalie sighed, "yes Adrian," she said, "this is more important then your teeth."

Monk gave her a not convinced look and Natalie rolled her eyes. _'Do you still think you might have feelings for him?' _Natalie asked herself in the head. "Look…this is really important."

"I believe we already established the importance of this conversation like, 40 seconds ago." Monk said as he showed her into the living room…still thinking about his teeth…but willing to talk about something else.

"Adrian." She said with an annoyed voice.

"Well will you hurry up and say it?" Monk asked, equally annoyed.

"Ok…fine!" She said as she and Adrian both took a seat on the couch. "Adrian………I just have to know one thing…"

Monk stared at her and nodded for her to continue.

"I just need to know if…you like me."

Monk chuckled. "Is that what all this is about?" he laughed again. "Of course I like you." He said patting her on the shoulder.

"No Mr. Monk."

Adrian frowned, "I…I don't like you?"

"No Mr. Monk I don't think you understudied my question…I mean do you like me?"

"And I mean yes I do."

Natalie stared at him for a second…it was obvious that he didn't understand what she was getting at. "Ok," she said. "Let me try a different way." She said as she looked at the wall behind him and licked her lips while rubbing her hands together.

This action didn't go unnoticed by Mr. Monk who was having a hard time taking his eyes off of the woman before him.

"I think…" she began, "I think…I may have feelings for you that we haven't previously discussed." _'My gosh woman…you make it sound like a business move.'_ Natalie noted silently in her head.

Monk looked confused. "Ooook."

"So…I think that we should get them straitened out now."

"Ok" Monk said as he nodded his head in agreement.

"Now…I'm about to do something…something that might catch you off guard so…please don't fire me."

Monk smiled and nodded. "Ok."

Then Natalie closed her eyes and took a deep breath in…………then let it out. She opened her eyes and grabbed the back of his neck and brought him towards her. She pressed his lips up against hers and a quick kiss.

She was right…it did catch him off guard! Through the whole '3 ½ seconds kiss' he had his eyes wide open with shock. Through most of the kiss he was wondering how any woman's lips (other than Trudy's) could fit so perfectly on his. It was as if God specially carved his and Natalie's lips to connect…where hers curved in…his bumped out…and vise versa. And for 3 ½ seconds…Monk was feeling something he hadn't felt in nearly 11 years. It was the feeling one gets when everything around them stops and it almost feels like your whole body is understanding and enjoying the same great feeling all at once. All of the sudden things started to come back to Monk. He remembered what he should do at this point…how he should drape his arms over her and deepen the kiss. He remembered what he should do with his mouth to make the kiss more enjoyable for the two. He remembered everything…but before he had the chance to do any of it…the 3 ½ seconds was over and she pulled away with closed eyes like she was afraid to look at his reaction.

When she opened her eyes, instead of looking at her boss, she turned to her purse and grabbed a hand wipe and gave it to Monk. He took it and wiped his lips while deep in thought.

Then Natalie finally looked at him as he stared at the crooked coffee table in front of them and gently wiping his lips with the white disposable cloth.

Natalie swallowed and began, "So my question is this…"

Monk looked up at her.

"Did you feel anything in that?"

'_More then you know!'_ Monk thought. But instead of saying anything…he just grabbed her gently by the sides of her face and brought her lips back to him. It was then that he got to do all the things he remembered.

'_By the looks of things…he felt something.' _She thought as he kissed her softly yet firmly all at the same time.

When the kiss ended…he brought their faces apart and looked at her. It was at that point that he started to realize the meaning behind his actions. This made him blush and pinch his lips together in an embarrassed smile. He brushed a stray strand of her hair back into place and nodded softly. "Sorry." He practically whispered out of embarrassment as he stood up and pulled her to her feet. "I-I'm sorry…I shouldn't have done that…and I'm sorry."

"B-"

"So…if you would please excuse me…" he said as he quickly walked out of the living room and back into his bathroom.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Ok…I know it wasn't that long of a chapter………ok it was pretty dang short. But I mean…what did you expect? It was a kissing scene! How long can I make a kissing scene? Oh well…I hope you liked it anyway.

Author's Note: I know that in a lot of fics…the writers normally write Monk as being the first to discover the love between him and Natalie or him and Sharona…and they never have the woman (who ever she may be) make the first move…its always he (Monk) who makes the first move and catches the woman (who ever she may be) off guard. So I thought it would be fun to have Monk sort of relies it first but then have Natalie make the first move and sort of catch Monk off guard. Hehe…so I had a lot of fun with this one by sort of messing with Monk a bit. lol. Much fun!

Please review!


	11. Chef Stottlemeyer

Author's Note: Ok I know what you're thinking… "weird title", right? Well to be honest it is a weird chapter title but give me a break…its late and I just wanna hury up and get this thing posted. So Chef Stottlemeyer if the only thing I could think of that would'nt give anything away. And its not totally random…they do mention Stottlemeyer cooking in this chapter. Ok I'm gonna shut up now and let you kind folks read the chapter. Ok, Bye.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"Well…that wasn't exactly the reaction I was hoping for." Natalie said out loud on her drive home. "Well…ok the first half was…but then again…what was I expecting him to do? He is Monk after all. The kiss was completely random! …Not to mention wonderful! I would have never thought that a kiss like that could come from him. He had to have felt something…a kiss like that couldn't be empty…………could it?"

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Monk opened the bathroom door quietly and peeked out………yep…she was gone. He walked out of the bathroom and sat down at his desk. But instead of pulling out 'the file'…he simply put his elbows on the desk and rested his head in his hands. _'What was I thinking? I should have never agreed to this! Stottlemeyer was wrong…this isn't gonna work. I should have never kissed her…now she's going to leave me and she'll never talk to me again………what a time to be me.'_

He planned on calling Stottlemeyer and calling the whole thing off, but before he reached

for the phone, Monk fell fast asleep on his desk.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

The next day Natalie came over to pick Monk up. There was little conversation on the ride to the precinct (which backed up Monk's assumption of her never wanting you talk to him again). Once they got there they went strait to Capt. Stottlemeyer's office where they continued the search for Natalie's daughter. At some point Natalie stepped away to the restroom, giving Leland the perfect opportunity to ask about last night.

"Soooo?" Stottlemeyer asked.

Monk looked up, "So what?"

"So……what happened last night between you and Natalie?"

Randy looked at Monk and smiled. This was the first he had heard of this news, and was now very interested. "What do you mean?"

"Monk and Natalie had a date last night." Stottlemeyer stated.

"Reeeealy?"

"It was not a date." Monk said standing up from his chair and rubbing his head.

"Then what was it?" Stottlemeyer asked with a smile.

"It was…………nothing…it was nothing." Adrian said (though he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince them or himself).

"Ok…so tell us what happened on this night of…nothing." Leland said as he leaned against his desk.

"Well…we…talked and had some tea."

"Tea? ……Maybe it was a night of nothing, Sir." Randy joked.

"Ok Monk lets skip to the good stuff…did you kiss her or not?"

Monk looked at Leland with his mouth open but no words coming out. "I-I-I-I"

"You what, Monk?"

"I-I-I…..shouldn't be talking to you about this."

"Why not?" Stottlemeyer and Randy said in unison.

"Because…its personal."

"Oh come on…did you kiss her?" Randy asked.

"I wont say."

Now it was Stottlemeyer's turn. "Did you kiss her!" he asked.

"I wont s-"

"DID YOU KISS HER?" Randy and Stottlemeyer yelled at Monk.

"YES! All right? Yes."

"Hot Dog!" Stottlemeyer said as he and Randy slapped hands.

"Where did'ja kiss her?" Randy asked excitedly.

"Mhhmm? Oh in the living room."

"No I mean where did you kiss her…on the hand? Mouth? What?"

"Hand…"

Leland and Randy looked disappointed till Adrian added, "…and Mouth."

"What happened next?"

"I uhh…I kissed her again."

"Then…?"

"Then I said I was sorry."

"You did WHAT?" Stottlemeyer asked.

"I…told her I was sorry?"

"Why? Why would you apologias for something like that?" Randy asked.

"I don't know…it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

"Well it wasn't! You never apologias for kissing a girl unless she slaps you! Don't you know that?" Randy yelled. "Wait………did she slap you?"

"No! She smiled." Monk stated.

Stottlemeyer and Randy looked at each other and smiled. "She smiled?" Stottlemeyer asked.

"Yeah. So?"

"So…that means she liked it." Randy said with a grin.

Adrian looked back and fourth between his two friends. "No," he said unbelievingly. "It's gotta mean something else…she didn't like it."

"Then what did it mean?" Randy asked.

Monk thought about it for about one minute before turning his head and saw Natalie stepping out of the restroom. Monk turned and whispered to his friends with a small smile, "…it means she liked it."

"Who liked what?" Natalie asked at she stepped into the room.

"Karen," Stottlemeyer quickly said. "I made her dinner last night."

"Really? I didn't know you cooked." Natalie said with a smile.

"Ohhhh yes. I'm an excellent chef."

"Yeah he is." Randy said, nodding his head and trying to back up the lie.

"Oh yes, quite the…cooker he is." Monk said as he tried to give Stottlemeyer a 'manly punch' on the arm (it turned out to be more of a 'sissy tap' on the arm, realy).

Natalie gave the three men a slow nod. "Ok," she said. "Where were we?"

They continued the search for Julie the best they could. Though it looked like a lost cause to most, Monk vowed to find Natalie's daughter before it was to late. He was unable to save his own child but maybe he could still save hers. It was that very thought that brought something very important to mind.

"Oh no." Monk said to himself in realization.

"What?" asked Randy.

"I know who kidnapped Julie."

"WHO?" Natalie asked with wide eyes.

"Well I don't know who b-but I know who."

Stottlemeyer's eyebrows scrunched together, "Monk, that made no since what so ever."

Monk took in a deep breath. "The man who called you on the phone told you to call off the case, right?"

"Yeah."

"And he said that if he saw on the news that you haven't called it off then he would…" At this point he turned and looked at Natalie sympathetically, "You know."

"Kill my kid!" Natalie finished.

"Yeah that." Monk said. "Am I correct one that?"

"That is correct." Stottlemeyer said nodding his head.

"Now how many other cases do you have going on other then Julie's?"

"Hundreds."

"How many of those cases would the press consider 'news worthy'?"

"About four."

"And which out of those four is the most recent?"

Stottlemeyer thought about it for two seconds before snapping his head up to meet Adrian's gaze. Monk and Stottlemeyer both said in unison "Trudy's"

"It makes perfect since. Whoever it was that murdered my family must have drifted back into the shadows for a while until…"

"Until you picked the case back up and started to get closer." Stottlemeyer finished.

"I don't get it. What does that have to do with Julie?" Natalie asked.

"They are trying to get to me through the people I'm closes to. Who is…"

"Me and Julie." Natalie finished with fear struck eyes.

Monk looked strait at her and sadly nodded his head. This was going to be one tough case to crack. But he swore that he would bring that girl home safely… even if it was the last thing he did.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

There, you've got it. I know it isn't that long of a chapter but hey…**I'm the writer I get to choose the length of the chapters! **…………Ok…so maybe I should have yelled…your still gonna review right?

…

…

…

…Right?


	12. News Report

Sorry for the wait. It's been a tough time on family recently. But we seem to be pulling it together. The chapter is a bit shorter then I would have wished, but I decided to just go ahead and post it cause I believed that you all had waited long enough. So here is the chapter, hope you like it.

By the way, I thought I would mention this. It just accrued to me that some of you might now know what the heck I am talking about when I say KFC. KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken. It's a really good chicken restaurant but I remembered that some of you might now have any KFC's where you live so I decided to point that out.

Also, I have a reference to MASH in this chapter. I LOVE that show. It is my (close) second favorite show ever! Its about army doctors (just so you know).

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Julie grabbed her stomach in pain. She drew back her hand and looked at it, it was covered in blood. She had woken up with Bob striking her with one blow across her stomach using his knife. After that he stormed out of the room, slamming the door. There was a tare across the lower part of her orange shirt where the blade made contact. Julie put her hand back over her stomach as she looked desperately around the room. Her eyes landed on the KFC bag on the other end of the room. She painfully stood herself up and walked across the room. She opened the bag and looked for-…bingo. She pulled out the paper napkins, lifted up her shirt and slowly began dabbing the gash. As she doctored her wound her thought drifted to her mother. She wondered what she was doing right that moment. She wondered what her mother would say or do if she could see her now. On the floor dabbing herself with napkins, with her shirt all bloody, well…that part probably would mind her that much…she never did like that shirt, she said it was "too revealing for a girl of her age." Of course Julie disagreed. She would tell her mother that "just because it's a V-neck doesn't mean its 'too revealing'". And of course Natalie disagreed with her. How Julie ever convinced her to buy it, we will never know. But you could be sure that after thinking about all that…Julie was heart broken. It was that sort of moment in time that would convince someone that there was little, if any, hope left for them, and that is the exact the feeling Julie was experiencing at that very moment.

Were they ever going to find her? Was she ever going to see her mom again? Would she ever get to go back to school…or get to see her friends again? If not, what should happen to her? Would she just live there forever? Would she grow old and die there? Would she be there for years? Would Bob keep getting angry and hurt her again? Would she escape? Would he kill her before she could?

Would she ever have a normal life, HER normal life back?

She sniffed and wiped away the tears from her cheek. She had to pull it together. All that was nonsense! Of course they were going to find her! Of course she was gonna be ok! Mr. Monk would find her! She had to keep thinking that. But right now, she had something else to worry about. The bleeding had mostly stopped but she had watched enough MASH episodes with her mom to know that she had to keep pressure on it to try to get the bleeding to stop. She glanced in the bag again...good there were still enough napkins. She walked back over to the closet and grabbed a tie that was hanging up; she walked back over to the bag and grabbed a hand full of napkins. Making sure to do it quickly, she took the old (and bloody) napkins off and stuck the new, fresh ones, on. Then with her other hand she looped the tie around herself and tied it tight to hold the napkins in place. It worked! Now she could experience extreme amounts of pain without having to use her hands! Hooray! She tried to think of something else that she could do to take care of herself but nothing came to mind. So instead, she walked over to the coach and laid down. This was a refreshing feeling, for it was the first time she got to sleep laying down since she got there. All the other nights she had been tied up to that pillar. This time Bob had left in such a huff that he had forgotten to tie her up. Good thing too, other wise she would'nt have been able to doctor herself properly (not that her mess of a medic impersonation was good enough to be considered proper. But she believed it to be a fantastic job, considering it to be done by a kid with no training other then what she saw on TV and to have only napkins and a tie to work with.). But while Julie was thinking of all these things, she fell fast asleep.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Bob walked over to his kitchen sink. He turned on the hot water and waited for it to steam. Once it was to an approving level of heat, he stuck his knife in at an angle so as not to splash himself. Once the blade was rid of blood and in his opinion sterile, he turned off the water and began to dry the knife.

That cop showing up was way to close of a call for him to handle. He didn't know what to do. He should have known all those years ago that agreeing to this would mean trouble. There is no way they were going to get away with this, not with a live piece of evidence kicking and screaming down in his basement! He was never cut out for this kind of job. Ok yeah, he was a crook, but even still, he was just a small job con man. Murder and kidnapping were two things that he just should have kept away from. Now look at him! Hands shaking with fright, standing in his kitchen with wide eyes and a little girl in his basement, wondering if he's gonna get caught, wondering if he's gonna get thrown in jail. If he does go to jail over this he's gonna talk! Oh boy, he is going to sing like a canary! No way he's gonna lie to keep that piece of slime's butt out of jail! No-no-no, if he gets caught, he's telling the cops everything he knows! …Maybe then they'll go a little easer on him……. maybe.

Bob grabbed another piece of chicken and walked over to his living room, turning on the TV with a huff. The news was on.

"As we take a look into our latest local news, we turn things over to our very own, Robby Neilson."

"Thank you Ronda. Yes, in latest news we have had a sudden out brake in robberies across town. So far they have hit four gas stations, two pizza places and one small grocery store. Also, after nine years of no leads, police say that they have had, what they say to be, a huge brake in a case caused over nine years ago with the killing of a cop's wife."

At this point the shot changed to show Capt. Leland Stottlemeyer at a press conference.

"Can you give us any names?" Asked a reporter.

"I am not able to relies that information to you just yet."

"Will it be possible for us to get a word in with the husband?"

"No. He will not be answering any questions at this time." Stottlemeyer said quickly.

"Is it true he's working on the case?"

"Yes, that is true. He is probably the best cop I know, and I have no doubt that he is going to nail this guy."

"Do you know when?"

"We're not sure exactly when, but we can tell you its gonna be soon."

"Can you tell us more abou-"

Bob flipped off the TV and grabbed a phone.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Karen Stottlemeyer picked up the ringing phone. "Hello?" She said.

"I wanna talk to captain Stottlemeyer, right now!" came the voice.

"Oh, alright. I'll get him for you." Karen said. She hurried through the house looking for her husband. She had no idea who this man was on the phone. She assumed it was one of the police men at the prescient from his sternness, and she knew that what ever he wanted, it had to be of high importance for him to use that kind of tone.

She entered her bedroom to find a certain Leland Stottlemeyer wearing nothing but his underwear and a dress shirt. He was trying to iron his dress pants put was having a hard time keeping them on the ironing board.

"Dear," she said as she approached her husband and held out the cordless phone. "Therese a man on the phone for you. It sounds urgent."

"Yeah, ok." Said a frustrated Stottlemeyer. "Honey, would you mind?" he asked as he held up the iron and the pants.

Karen sighed and took both objects after setting the phone down on the bed.

Leland smile, gave his wife a kiss on the cheek and grabbed the phone. "This is Stottlemeyer."

"I've got a bone to pick with you Captain." Came the rough voice that Stottlemeyer recognized but still could not put his finger on it.

"Do I know you?" Stottlemeyer asked as he was heading out the door but was stopped by his wife.

"Leland you don't have on your pants, remember?" warned Karen.

Stottlemeyer gave his wife a grateful smile then closed the bedroom door. He then, once again, turned his full attention to the familiar voice on the other end of the line.

"Yes," came the voice. "you do know me. We've spoken before. Remember Rachel?"

It was at that moment that the realization hit Stottlemeyer. This was the man that they had been looking for. This was the man that knew where Julie was. "You!" Stottlemeyer said in a tone that was close to a shout.

"That's right, me." Bob said. "Now if I'm not mistaken, I gave you clear warning as to what would happen if you didn't call off the case, did I not?"

"Liste-"

"Well guess what pal, I just checked the news and found that you still have not called off the case."

"You ca-" Stottlemeyer one again tried to cut in, but soon failed.

"And did I not tell you what would happen if you did not call it off?"

"Alright, listen." Stottlemeyer began, trying to sound as calm as possible. "If you want, we can set something up and talk about it. All we ask is that you return the girl safely to her family."

"No, we're talking now! I'm not gonna do any of that that 'meet me at this place at this time' crap! This is gonna happen here and now, or Rachel's dead!"

"Ok, ok fine."

"Now I will tell you ONE more time, CALL OFF THE CASE!"

"Now hold on. I am the captain of the SFPD. Do you have any idea how many cases I have sitting on my desk! You're gonna have to be a bit more specific then that!"

"Alright, alright!" Bob shouted into the phone.

Stottlemeyer heard the man on the other end of the line quickly swear and then proceeded to make spitting sounds near the phone.

"D--- chicken bone! Nearly broke my tooth off." Bob cursed as he spit the chicken bone out of his mouth. "Listen Coppy! Something tells me that you already know what case I'm talking about. I'm talking about the Trudy case for heavens sake!"

Stottlemeyer was surprised. For some reason, hearing this man call Trudy by name seemed to catch Stottlemeyer off guard.

"Now you call off that case or you aint never gonna see Rachel AGAIN!" Bob brought the phone away from his ear and roughly pressed the 'End' button.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

There ya go folks. I haven't got any more quite yet, but the rest is coming up, I can assure you of that. So….until I get the next chapter ready…you could bless me by sending a review. Tell me your thoughts on the chapter. Tell me what you liked and didn't like. Tell me where I screwed up the story line. Tell me what made you laugh, smile, or giggle. Tell me all your thoughts (On the CHAPTER! ……I don't want to know about ever thing that passes through your head while you are writing the review, I don't want to know about what you ate for breakfast or what you intend to eat for dinner. All I want to know is what you thought about the chapter. lol).

Until then,

--Monker


	13. Invisable Chains

Ok guys, I am really sorry it took me so long to update. I had the worst case of writers block I have ever had. It lasted about a week and a half. all I had was the first four paragraphs (if thats even how you spell that dumb word), and I couldnt think of anything else to write! It was very mind boggleing. I finally thought of somthing (it actually came to me in a dream...sounds so whistful...not really. But I really did dream it), and thought it took me a while to think of...I am pleased with how it turned out.

ON TO THE CHAPPY!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

His face was completely solemn, though it showed no emotion. His eyes were fixed on one thing…it was a picture of his late wife. A single tear slid down his cheek as he continued to show no form of emotion in his face. His eyes softened as they fell to rest on his wedding band. It was that time again, the time that happens every night or so. It's when he contemplates whether or not he should take it off. He knew that he had been married to a dead woman for too long, he knew that the time of letting go had passed quite some time ago. He knew that this was something he would have to do sooner or later. Yes…it was time. With eyes full of determination, Monk stretched his fingers on his left hand apart, he slowly placed his right hand's forefinger and thumb around the ring. With lips pinched shut, he slowly began the slide the ring off of his finger. He got it passed the first knuckle…and stopped. He looked up at the picture in front of him. He saw his wife standing there, in her wedding dress, with a look of reassurance in her eyes, as though she knew all along that he would one day have to do this while looking at that exact photo. He nodded at the picture and slowly continued to take off the ring.

It was just about to pass over his nail when all of the sudden, his front door opened and in walked Natalie. He lost his courage a quickly slid the ring back into its normal position. It was too soon. He wasn't ready. The fact that he had to do it sooner or later was still very real to him, he just preferred it to be later instead of sooner. He dried his single tear and stood to greet Natalie.

Their first kiss was still a vivid memory in the minds of both Natalie and Monk. Though it was awkward in the beginning, Adrian secretly craved for it to happen again. But at the same time, he reluctantly shuddered at the thought of Natalie's mouth touching his. The mouth was the number one place to find germs on the human body. And even though kissing Natalie was one of the single, most enjoyable things Adrian had felt in a VERY long time, the thought of doing it again made him nearly spring for the nearest toothbrush.

He hated feeling that way. He wanted to be a normal man, where he could kiss who ever he wanted, without having this feeling of horror that he may get sick and die from it. It was moments like those that he couldn't find the 'blessing' part of his 'blessing and a curse' thing. He wished that he could be charming, lift Natalie into the air, and kiss her softly. He wished he could give his love freely to whom ever he pleased. But he couldn't. He could never do things like that freely. For the demons that haunted him had forbidden those kinds of feelings and actions. Those were the simple pleasures that men like him had been denied. Even though it may be so easy for other men, love would never come easily for Adrian Monk. It felt as though he were prisoner of something, as though he was living his life in chains that were not visible to the human eye. For the few years that he had had Trudy, he cherished them. He felt as though he had beat the system or something. Like he had tricked those who haunted him. When she died, it was as though the party was over and he was sent back to his invisible chains. If ever he found the key to those chains, he knew he would run strait for Natalie.

"Hey Mr. Monk. I brought in your mail. I hope that's ok." She said as she walked over to Monk and held out the small stack of envelopes.

"Yeah, that's fine Natalie. Thank you." Adrian grabbed his mail from her hand and walked over to his desk. He opened the drawer and retrieved his letter opener.

Natalie watched as he carefully opened his mail. "Adrian?" She asked.

"hmm?"

"I just wanted to say…I just…wanted to say…that I really appreciate you doing this. You know, looking for my kid and all. I know you have a lot of other things you probably need to be doing…so I just wanted to say thank you for doing all of this."

Monk turned around and faced Natalie. He had a strange look in his eyes, one as if he was confused about something. "I don't understand. Why are you thanking me?"

"Because, I know that this probably isn't at the top of your to-do-list. I mean…you're the most famous detective in the country! I know that you have other cases to work on that are more important then this."

It was at this point that Natalie's face began to scrunch up and tears began to slide down her face. "…So I just…wanted…to say thank you"

Monk set down his letters and walked over to Natalie. He reached into his jacket and retrieved his handkerchief; he then tilted Natalie's face upward so he could rid her face from the tears that gathered on it. "Natalie," he said, "you don't have to thank me for anything. I'm not doing this to earn thanks; I'm doing it for Julie. I want to see her home as much as you do. And you're wrong. There is no other case more important to me right now. I swore to find Julie, and I intend to…not because I have to…but because I want to…I need to."

"I miss her." Natalie exclaimed as she practically fell into the hug that she so desperately needed. "Its not enough to just look at her pictures anymore, Mr. Monk. I need to be able to feel her. I need to be able to hug her. I need to be able to make everything better for her. She needs me, Mr. Monk. I can feel it. The other day when my alarm went off, I got out of bed and yelled towards her room that she had to get up or she would be late for school. It took me a couple seconds before I realized that I was talking to no one cause Julie wasn't there to talk to. No parent should ever have to realize that."

Monk sighed and gently shook his head in agreement. "No Natalie, they shouldn't." Monk found himself gently stroking her back at she wept into his jacket. Adrian remembered the pain he felt when he heard that he had lost a child. He imagined the horror it would be to know that your child was somewhere out there, alone, maybe dead. He considered the pain on one hand, and the fear on the other, Monk couldn't decide which would be worse. But one thing was for sure, He didn't want Natalie to hurt any longer, he had to do something to bring Julie home faster.

As Natalie gave yet another sob into his shoulder, Monk allowed a tear to slide down each cheek (which was good. He would have hated if only one of his eyes cried, cause then it would be…you know, uneven.). He placed both hands around Natalie's face and pulled her away from him. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Natalie, I swear I will find Julie and get her back to you as fast as I can!" Monk declared as he gave Natalie's face a reassuring shake (which was a bit more forceful then he planed cause it made Natalie's eyes cross).

Both Natalie and Adrian's attention was then turned to the phone as it started to ring. Monk walked over to it and raised it to he ear.

"Hello?" Adrian said.

Pause 

"Alright, we'll be right over." Monk then gently placed the phone back on its hook and returned to Natalie, who had been listening to what she could hear of the conversation.

"Where are we going?" she asked at she grabbed her purse and dried the last of the fallen tears.

"To the priciest. The Captain wants us to hear something."

Natalie jumped back into 'normal mode' as she complained the subject. "Why cant he ever just tell us over the phone? Instead he makes us (me) drive all the way out there and use up all of that gas, just so he could tell us something that we could have heard over the phone. I mean, wasn't that why the telephone was invented anyway, for communication? I think a certain Mr. Alexander Graham Bell would be very disappointed."

Monk simply sighed and rolled his eyes at his friend as he walked out the door.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"Ok, we're here. What did you want to say." Monk said as he stepped into the Captain's office. Monk stopped when he realized that there was no one in the room. Monk turned around to see Lt. Disher standing in the doorway.

"Where's the Captain?" Natalie asked.

"He's in the interrogation room with a suspect." Answered Randy.

"You have a suspect!" Natalie asked in a high voice.

"Not to you case…to a different one." Randy said.

Natalie looked disappointed, but no one could blame her.

"In the meantime," Randy began, "I guess we can just wait here." He said as he gladly took the seat at the Captain's desk, folding his hands behind his head and crossing his feet on the desk in front of him, with a smug smile on his face, as if he had just been promoted and was now the Captain himself.

Natalie took a seat and picked up a magazine. Like Natalie, Monk also wanted some reading material, so he reached for the daily reports made by some of the cops at the station.

Soon after, Capt. Stottlemeyer entered the room to find Adrian and Natalie quietly waiting for him. Leland also noticed that his chair had a unusualoccupier. Upon seeing Stottlemeyer's entrance, Randy quickly vacated the cozy chair.

Monk and Natalie noticed this and turned to see Stottlemeyer standing behind them.

"There you are." Adrian exclaimed as he set down what he was reading and stood.

"Yeah sorry about that, I was interrogating a dim-whit-thug who got a little trigger happy. By the way Randy, I think I solved the Emerson case."

"Really sir? That's great! Did Michael Lotner do it like you though he did?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you how in a minute,"

Monk and Natalie looked at each other, the both felt very out-of-the-loop. Natalie turned back to the Randy and Stottlemeyer, "Oh, of course!" she said as she slowly nodded her head. "Michael Lotner!" Natalie pretended that she knew all about the said case. Then she held up her hands and hiked her shoulders to show that she was completely clueless.

"Right, sorry." Stottlemeyer said as he took a seat at his desk. "The real reason I asked you guys to come here is because I wanted to tell you how I got another phone call from whoever it was that has Julie."

"You did!" Natalie shouted as she nearly jumped out of her seat.

Monk smiled at her excitement. "What did he say?" Adrian said as he let his attention once again fall on Stottlemeyer.

Leland then began to repeat all that he remembered from the short conversation. Once he was through Natalie turned to look at Adrian. He, as expected, had his usual 'deep in thought' face on. He had his elbows on the armrests and the fingers interlocked his hands. Natalie loved what she was looking at. She loved his look that he always made. She watched as he was clearly deep in thought. She saw how his eyebrows fell into their thoughtful position and his eyes went without blinking. She waited quietly for his response. Finally…he spoke.

"What else did you hear?"

"What do you mean?" Stottlemeyer asked. "I just told you every thing he said."

"I know that. What did you hear in the background? Was it noisy? Was he alone? Was the TV on? Was the room echoing? What else did you hear?"

Stottlemeyer caught on, he thought back to earlier that morning as he received the phone call. "I…I think it was pretty silent. I might have heard a clock ticking."

"What kind of a clock?"

"A sun dial, Monk! How the heck and I suppose to know?"

Monk raised his right index finger up to where it was about eye level to him and shook it lightly. "Uh sun dials don't tick, Captain."

Stottlemeyer sighed and shook his head with his eyes closed, clearly annoyed at Monk. "No Monk, I don't know what kind of clock it was."

"Ok, lets forget about the clock. Did you hear anything else, Captain?" Natalie said trying to get back on subject.

Stottlemeyer thought back on it. "No," he said. 

"Anything strange that he might have said or done." Natalie asked.

Monk turned and looked at his assistant. He was amazed how quickly she seemed to catch on to the detection business, already she was asking the right questions.

Stottlemeyer thought about it, "Yeah actually," he began, "I do remember him calling Trudy by name. He referred to the case as the 'Trudy case'.

Monk was equally shocked at this but that feeling was soon delayed for the woman next to him currently distracted Monk. Natalie turned and gave Monk a superior smile. "Hah, I got Trudy where all you got was the tick tock of a clock." She said with a girlish smile. A smile in which had Monk hypnotized for the briefest of moments.

"He was eating chicken, too" Stottlemeyer added.

Monk turned and looked at him. "Pardon?"

"The guy was eating chicken. He choked on a bone during the phone call."

"Are you sure it was chicken!" Monk exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Yeah, he said so. Why?"

"Because if he choked on chicken…then I know where Julie is."

"What!" Natalie, Randy and Stottlemeyer all said in unison.

"I just solved the case."

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

All right guys, this is the fun part. This is where you all send me reviews filled with your guesses and a brief summery of what you think happened. I don't plan on posting the next chapter until I get at least five guesses or reviews.

Please tell me what you thought of this chapter. It would really mean a lot to me if you guys said a bit more then just "Hey, great chapter. Hope you update soon." lol

Author's Note: I don't know if I spelt Alexander Graham Bell correct. So I'm really sorry if I got it wrong.

PLEASE REVIEW:o)


	14. Hello Julie

Ok, you've waited long enough. Even though four guesses wasn't the five I asked for…I will still update. I really hope you like this chapter. I really liked writing it!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Adrian reached out and grabbed the small stack that he had been holding earlier. He flipped through the daily reports to retrieve the one that had caught his eye. He found it and his smile greweven wider. He placed the file in front of Captain Stottlemeyer. Leland picked it up and started reading as Monk began to explain his theory.

"That was filed by Officer Marc Sackets. Most of it is routine, neighbors complained of loud noises, Sackets checked it out, found nothing. BUT…right there," Monk said as he reached out his finger and pointed to a spot on the paper, "under where it says 'other', Sackets tells how he could have possibly heard something in the basement. What ever it was must have stopped for some reason because when he went down to check it…he found nothing there."

"What does that have to do with Chicken?" Stottlemeyer asked.

"Look right here," Randy said as he also pointed to the paper after reading something that caught his eye, "Marc also says that there was unusual splatters of coleslaw and mashed potatoes on the wall, and under that, on the floor, were two chicken wings."

Stottlemeyer looked up at a grinning Adrian Monk who was still leaning over the desk, pointing at the paper. "How sure are you about this, Monk?"

"95 percent."

"That's good enough for me." Stottlemeyer said as he grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and put it on.

Natalie squealed with haplessness. She jumped from her seat and gave Adrian a swift (and firm) kiss on his cheek. Two seconds later, she was out the door and headed for her car.

Leland and Randy smiled at Natalie's actions. Stottlemeyer, still grinning, walked over to Adrian, reached in his (Adrian's)jacket, pulled out Monk's white handkerchief, and handed it to Monk. Adrian gave a smile, very similar to that of a little boy, as he wiped the mark on his cheek (made by the lipstick) off while he walked towards the door.

"See?" Randy asked. "She didn't apologies! What was wrong Monk?" Disher asked, referring to a conversation that he and the Captain had had earlier with Monk.

Stottlemeyer looked at Randy and laughed. "Do you even dare to ask that question?" Leland smiled.

Randy nodded, "You're right," he said, "I never asked it."

Stottlemeyer and Randy both laughed as they too started quickly walking to their cars.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"Hey Rachel!" Bob yelled as he came down the stairs.

"Yeah?" Julie responded. She had once again been securely fastened to the pillar that she was quickly becoming accustomed to. "What is it?" she asked.

"I'm out of beer, I'm gonna run to the gas station to get some. Do you want something? Candy bar? Somethin' like that?"

"I don't care." Julie said in a very gloomy sort of way.

"Ok, fine then…I'll be back in a jiff." Bob said as he disappeared through the door at the top of the stairs.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Randy drove as fast as he could towards the location given to him by Officer Sackets. Monk, who was sitting next to him, was yelling out instructions on vehicle transportation safety. Lt. Disher was lucky; the blaring sirens on the top of the vehicle were tuning out most of Monk's madness.

Stottlemeyer was sitting in the back with an arm around Natalie, trying his best to comfort her. Natalie was crying softly though she did not know why, this should be a happy moment for her…right?

They reached the address and Disher slammed on the brakes, causing the car to come to a screeching halt.

Monk was sitting in the passengers seat with both of his hands clenched to what ever he had in reach. "Oh my word, I'm dead I know I am. I'm dead. I'm gone. I'm dead."

Randy reached across and shook Adrian's shoulder. "Monk! You're not dead."

Adrian opened his eyes. "I'm not?"

"No," Randy said, "We're here. Come on."

Monk, Disher, and Stottlemeyer got out of the car. Natalie was about to follow them but was stopped by Stottlemeyer's had in front of her. "You cant come, Natalie." Stottlemeyer said.

"Why not? That's my kid in there!" She argued.

Monk stepped in front of Leland and bent down to where he was eye level with Natalie, who was still in the car. "Stay here Natalie. Its dangerous in there. He could be armed."

"Adrian you don't understand." Natalie began.

Monk grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth for a pleading kiss. "Please Natalie," he begged, "I don't want him to hurt you."

Natalie slowly nodded her head while tears gently slid down her face.

"Thank you." Adrian said as he reached out and gently touched her, starting with a single finger on her cheekbone and sliding it all the way down to the bottom of her chin. Monk then rose and followed Stottlemeyer and Disher up the small set of steps and up to the front door.

Natalie watched from the car as Randy and the Captain both drew their guns and kicked open the door. As Randy, Stottlemeyer, and Monk (along with other police men) all vanished into the house, Natalie said a quick prayer for the out come.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Julie's head popped up as she heard a loud crash and the sound of a familiar voice shouting, "Police! Come out with your hands up!"

"Lt. Disher!" She yelled as loud as she could.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Monk's head snapped in the direction of where he had heard Julie's voice coming from. He threw open the door, not caring that their might be someone with a gun on the other side."

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Julie saw a man standing at the top of the stairs. She could not tell who it was yet, but she was pretty certain that it wasn't Bob. The man quickly walked down the stairs. "Julie." He said as he knelt before her. Now she was certain who it was.

"Mr. Monk!" she said as he walked around her to undo that which had her bound. "I knew you'd come. I've been waiting for you."

Monk smiled as he undid the knots. "Sorry for the wait. You're a hard one to track down." He said as he finished untying her and returned to the front of her. He once again knelt down before her. "I'm sorry Julie." Monk said with sincere eyes. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this."

"I don't care about that now. All I care about is that it's over." Julie sat up and hugged him. She quickly gasped and pulled herself away. She grabbed her stomach in pain.

Up until now, Monk hadn't noticed the large gash across Julie's stomach. "Oh Julie! What did he do?"

"I made him mad."

Monk's heart broke as Julie pulled the napkins away to show the wound. Monk let out a large sigh. He felt so responsible. "I'm so sorry, Julie." Then an even more terrifying thought came to his mind. "Julie?"

"Yeah?"

"Did he…did he hurt you? I mean…did he do anything else to you? Did he…I mean…he didn't…? Did he?"

Julie patted Monk on his shoulder. "No Mr. Monk, he didn't."

"Oh good." Adrian said after sighing a huge sigh of relief. "Come on Julie, Your moms waiting for you."

Adrian picked up Julie and carried her up the stairs.

Stottlemeyer and Randy saw as Monk appeared through a door, carrying Julie. They watched as he carried her out of the house.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Natalie watched as her dream came true. Monk looked like an angle as he carried her daughter to her. He was finally keeping this promise that he made over and over again for the past week and a half.

Monk smiled as he saw Natalie getting out of the car and running towards him.

"Mom!" Julie said as Monk gently set her down so that she could run to her mother, which is exactly what she did.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Bob drove to his house but kept driving when he saw the four squad cars in front of it. He saw as Rachel ran towards a woman who he assumed to be her mother. He sunk down in his chair and quickly drove past. Luckily, he was not seen.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Monk smiled as he saw Natalie and Julie hug the living daylights out of each other. Natalie kept whispering the words "I love you", over and over and over again into her daughter's ear.

Soon afterward, Julie was taken to the hospital. Once they arrived some nurses took Julie to be treated. Natalie was left to wait in the lobby with Monk.

"Adrian?" Natalie asked as she approached Monk.

He looked up at her a smirked.

"I really cant thank you enou-" Natalie stopped as she saw Monk hold up his hand.

He waved his hand as if to dismiss the suggestion. "I don't need to be thanked."

"If it weren't for you…I might not have my daughter right now. So I have to thank you."

"…………Your welcome." Monk said as he took a step towards her and grabbed the side of her face.

Natalie wrapped her arms around his neck and just held him like that for a moment. Then she pulled him in and kissed him.

Monk gladly draped his arms across her back and held her to him. The kiss continued for roughly 20 seconds. Once the kiss ended, Monk concluded it with four more kisses, two on each of Natalie's cheeks.

Monk held Natalie in a hug until they were told that they could go into the room with Julie.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

There ya go. He solved it. BUT WAIT! THERES MORE! There is still a little bit of story left, it doesn't end there.

Ok…I'm sorry if that seemed like a lame way of having Monk solve the case. But that's really all I could think of.

PLEASE tell me what you thought about this chapter


	15. Just a couple of answers

Ok guys, Here is, in my mind, a SUPER long chapter. And because of this chapters length, I expect that the next shall probably be a bit shorter.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Monk followed Natalie as she stepped into the room that held her daughter. Adrian slightly twitched as he stepped into the room. It was ugly and pail. Everything was cold and all together…not very welcoming. He let his eyes peel away from the pail wallpaper and look at Natalie as she walked towards the bed in the middle of the room and hugged her daughter.

Julie was in a hospital robe with a bandage around her head. She had to have forty-six stitches all together, thirty-two on her stomach and fourteen in her head. Natalie was well aware of this cause she and Monk had been informed of Julie's conditions in the lobby by a nurse.

"Oh, sweetie." Natalie exclaimed as she released her daughter. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Julie answered with a shrug of the shoulders.

"We're gonna get you out of here really soon, ok?" Natalie reassured.

"Ok." Julie smiled. Then she looked over at Monk who was barely though the doorway. "Thank you again, Mr. Monk."

"You're welcome, Julie" Monk said as he came closer to the bed.

"I don't know how to thank you enough for what you did."

"Its ok, Julie," replied Monk; "Your mom already thanked me enough."

Natalie smiled.

"Really?" asked Julie. "How?"

"Are you thirsty kiddo?" Natalie quickly changed the subject. She grabbed the small water bottle that the hospital had already provided and began poring it into a small cup.

Monk smiled at Natalie's obvious discomfort when it came to talking about the recent kiss between she and Monk. But he respected Natalie and silently agreed to stay clear of that subject for a while. He knew that if he had a child, he probably wouldn't talk openly about kissing Natalie in front of it.

"We're gonna try to get you home pretty soon." Natalie reassured as she handed the drink to Julie.

"I'm glad. I'm ready for all of this to be over and for everything to be back to normal." The girl said as she took a sip and tilted her head back and closed her eyes.

Then there was a small knock on the door and two familiar faces appeared in the doorway. Natalie turned her head towards the door to see who it was. "Oh! Come on in Captain, Randy."

The two men entered the room, greeted Julie, and then asked to speak with Monk and Natalie outside for a moment. They agreed and all walked out side of the room for a brief discussion. The word 'brief' is the perfect word to describe the conversation because the four of them soon appeared through the door again and all took a seat.

"Julie," Stottlemeyer began, "your mother has agreed to let us ask you a few questions."

"If you're feeling up to it." Natalie quickly finished.

"Well, I'm a little tired. But I guess I could answer a couple questions"

"Julie, do you know how many people were living in the house?" Asked Disher as he pulled out his note pad and panicle.

"Only Bob." Julie answered.

"Bob? Who was Bob?" Asked Stottlemeyer with confusion.

"He was the guy who kidnapped me."

Randy and Stottlemeyer looked at each other. Randy then said, "We looked through the house. We found letters, computer files, a name-tag from his job, they all said that his name was Ryan Walters."

Julie thought about it, "I guess that would make sense." She said. "He just said that was what I could call him. He never really said that was his name. He looked like he could be a Ryan." Julie said thoughtfully.

"So you got a good look at him?" Stottlemeyer asked.

"Oh, yeah. I saw the guy three to four times a day."

"Could you identify him if you ever saw him again?" Adrian asked.

"Yep."

"Julie, could you please describe him so we can have an idea what to be looking for?" Asked Leland.

"He was tall, with brown hair and bright blue eyes. His nose was really flat and he had a freckle right here." Julie said as she pointed to a spot on her left cheek.

"Did he have any strange aspects or tendencies that may stand him out in a crowed?" Monk asked.

Julie didn't understand. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Did he have a scare? Or did he have an accent of any kind? What was unique about him?" Adrian explained.

"He didn't have an accent, he was from here I think. But he did have a funky hand, though."

"Funky in what way?" Stottlemeyer asked.

"He had to many fingers."

Monk's eyes locked with Julie's. Could this really be the same man that killed his family? He had to know. "He had six fingers on his right hand." Even though Monk intended for this to be a question, it came out more of a statement.

"Yeah that's right." Julie said. "How did you know?"

Adrian looked over at Leland, "Captain," he said with every inch of his emotion shooting out of his eyes.

"I know, Monk." Stottlemeyer reassured. He tried his best to say it calmly. Frankly, he too was made anxious with this bit of information. "Julie, now that we know who we are looking for, we need to know where to look. Did he say anything about where he might be headed?"

Julie thought…then remembered; "He said something about going to a gas station or something to get some more beer."

"Gas station. Go!" Monk said quickly.

Immediately, Stottlemeyer and Randy rose from their seats and headed for the door. Within no time, they were gone.

After this point, Mr. Monk was very quiet; he appeared to be deep in thought. Natalie and Julie left him to his thoughts and started a conversation. Every once in a while Natalie would turn her head and see that there was the tiniest sign of a tear forming in his eye. She immediately knew what it was that he was thinking about. He was clearly deep in thought, thoughts of his late wife Trudy and the child that he never had. The thought of finally knowing who it was that killed them, and coming this close to knowing where he is, even sent chills up HER spine. At that moment Natalie realized how much of a burden he was carrying and how close he had finally come to ridding himself of it. Now it was more then her family that was involved; now it was also her best friend's (maybe even more then just a friend's) family that was being effected by this monster of a man.

"Mom?"

Natalie's attention once again turned to her daughter. "Yes, honey?"

"I'm really tired now. Can I get some sleep?" Julie said with a yawn.

Natalie smiled and gently stroked her daughter's cheek. "Ok," she simply said.

Monk was drawn away from his thoughts at the sight of Natalie rising from her chair. He did the same and followed her out of the room. Soon, they were back in the lobby. Natalie gave a small sigh and then turned to look at Monk. "Adrian, are you gonna be ok?" She asked as she gently put a hand on his shoulder.

Monk looked at her, "Natalie," he said. "I've…I've never gotten this close before. I've never had an eyewitness. I think…I think I just might…catch him now."

Natalie smiled and placed an arm around him. "Yeah," she said, "you just might."

Adrian tilted his head to the side and rubbed his hands together.

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Natalie asked, concerned about his expression.

"Of course!" He said as he and Natalie began walking out of the building.

"Then what's the problem?"

"It's just that…I've dedicated my whole life to solving this crime. What am I supposed to do once I've caught him? How am I going to spend my time?"

"You're gonna spend your time freely. You will for once get to spend your life the way you were meant to. You will finally learn what it feels like to walk with out the feeling that the world is on your shoulders. You will be free to act what ever way you want, to say what ever you want……to love who ever you want."

Monk's eyes quickly shot in Natalie's direction, but she refused to make eye contact with him. Instead, she merely quickened her pace and remained silent.

Once in the car, they spoke the few words that needed to be said. Mostly they had to decide where to go to pass the time. Natalie suggested playing a round of put-put golf, but declined her suggestion after realizing and explaining that that couldn't be a good idea cause she couldn't see Monk as being much of a put-put sort of guy. He said that perhaps they could go to the store and get some more wipes. Natalie quickly shot down that idea; "no-no-no-no…I will not buy anymore wipes until I see last weeks pay check." Eventually, they decided to go and get something to eat.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"Hello," Stottlemeyer took a quick look at the boy at the counter's nametag, "Ronny. My name is Leland Stottlemeyer of the SFPD. We have reason to believe that a suspect might have stopped by this gas station."

"We think he may have bought some beer." Randy finished.

The scared 17-year-old boy quickly explained how there were a lot of guys coming through here and buying beer. Stottlemeyer asked if they could see the security tapes. Ronny, not wanting to get in any trouble with the police, showed the two of them to a small room where security was controlled.

Now Disher and Stottlemeyer were in the back room looking over the tapes of the parking lot.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Back that up!" Leland called.

Disher leaned forward and squinted at the buttons and knobs before him. The room was poorly lit so he had a hard time determining which button to push. He eventually got it however and the tape soon backed up.

"There! Pause!" Stottlemeyer shouted as Randy did so. "How many fingers, Randy?"

Disher looked closely at the screen. "Looks like six, sir" he sated.

"Plates?"

Randy changed camera views and looked hard at the license plate of the car that the six-fingered man was stepping out of. "Looks like…ARO SMTH FAN. Sweet, he likes Arrow Smith."

"No, not sweet Randy! That man killed Trudy!" Stottlemeyer said with a huff as he exited the small room. "And he killed my best friend, too." He added softer.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Natalie looked across the table at Monk who was, subconsciously, straitening various objects on the table. He brought his eyes away from what he was doing long enough to glance up at Natalie. He could see worry in her eyes. He reached across the table and opened his fingers. She understood the gesture and placed her hand in his. "She's gonna be fine, Natalie. Just a couple of scrapes and browses, that's all."

She smiled at his kindness. "I know…thanks Adrian."

He returned the smile and slowly began to rub the back of her hand with his thumb. The action gave her goose bumps. "Adrian?"

"mhmm?"

"What are we here?"

Monk looked puzzled, "I don't think I understand."

"I mean…first we kissed, then we kissed again…now we're holding hands. What are we? Are we strictly friends? Cause if we are, then I need to know so I can withdraw all the flirting."

Monk swallowed hard and blushed. "S-so what's the question?" he asked timidly.

"Are we more then…just friends?" Natalie looked at his face. She needed so badly to know the answer but she feared what it might be.

Monk twitched his head to the left and loosened his grip on Natalie's hand. But just as he was trying to let go, she held on even tighter. Monk looked at their now better grip and them back up to Natalie's eyes. " No," he said.

Natalie's face dropped and now it was her turn to pull away, but this time Monk held the grasp. "That is, unless you want to be." He added.

She looked at him and smiled. "Is that your way of asking me?"

Monk lifted their joined hands to his mouth and gave hers a slow kiss. "I guess so."

"Then I except." Natalie smiled.

Monk was overjoyed! He had a girl friend! Even at forty-seven years of age, he still felt like a giddy little schoolboy when he, not only heard her reply, but also saw that gorgeous smile that followed. Perhaps he had found the key to those chains after all.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Monker Note #1: The name 'Ryan Walters' was taken from a boy that I used to know who was named 'Ryan Waters' (without the L). I always liked his name and decided to put it in this story. Plus it sounded like a good "Bad Guy" name. So, Ryan, if you're out there now…reading this…don't take any offence to it. I merely liked your name.

Monker Note #2: I'm not really sure if 17 is an appropriate age for a gas station clerk. I just randomly picked an age. So I'm sorry if you don't find that believable.

Monker Note #3: I was planning on having this chapter be longer but I realized how long it was running already and decided that I could save some of it for the next chapter.

Monker Note #4: The Arrow Smith comment was a shout out to by brother. He loves them.

PLEASE leave a review before clicking on that little x at the top right hand corner of you screen.


	16. Lineups and Interrogations

Short chappy.

Well…I'm sorry to say that this little ride of ours is drawing to an end. I suppose the next chapter (or so) should do it. I really hope you guys have enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it.

This was probably the second most difficult chapter I ever had to write (you'll see why) so if nothing else, PLEASE review this chapter. I don't care if it's the only thing of mine you ever review, just please tell me what you think about this chapter…. it would mean the world to me. (Tearjerker. lol)

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

The newly found couple sat there for a while. No matter the pass time, whether it be talking, laughing, or just sitting there, their hands always stayed joined. After a while, Monk forgot that he had been holding her hand and slowly rubbing her fingers with the tip of his thumb. He, however, was reminded of his gesture when Natalie broke the grasp to answer her ringing cell phone.

"Hello?" said Natalie.

_Pause_

"You're kidding!"

_Pause_

"That FAST!"

_Pause_

"All right, we'll be right there." She hung up the phone and looked at the man across the table. "Come on. The Captain says they got him!"

"Really? That was fast."

"I know! Come on, they said to get Julie and come for one of those line ups."

Monk and Natalie quickly headed for the car. At the hospital, the doctors were reluctant to let Julie go. In the end, Stottlemeyer had to come down and explain how this was a police matter and that Julie would only be gone for a short time. Stottlemeyer had to promise to have Julie back within an hour's time, he did so and the four of them soon met back up with Randy at the precinct

"What took you so long?" Asked Randy.

Stottlemeyer looked pretty ticked off as he said, "Julie has a tree stump for a doctor is all! The guy couldn't take the fact that this was a police matter of the utmost importance and that Julie would be back soon!" He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his blond hair before continuing. "You know what? Lets just get to it."

"Right," started Randy, "Julie, the way this is going to work is we're going to bring in a group of six guys. This is special glass so you will be able to see them but they cant see you, ok? Then I'm going to have them each take a step forward and turn a little, that way you can get a good look at each of them. THEN I want you to tell me who out of these six guys is…Bob. Ok?"

The girl nodded, "Ok," she said.

Randy pressed a button and leaned in near the microphone. "Ok, bring 'em in," he let go of the button, then remembering, he pressed the button again and added, "please."

The door opened and slowly six different men all walked in, one at a time. Julie leaned in to her mom, "I see him," she said, "he's in there."

"Good," was Natalie's response. She could see the anger that filled Monk's eyes as he stared down the six men before him. She watched as his eyes settled on number three who scratched his head, revealing six fingers on his right hand. If looks could kill, that man would surely be on the floor at that very moment. Natalie reached out her hand and grabbed Monk's clenched fist in an effort to calm his rising hate for the man in the next room. It worked, to some extent. Adrian relaxed his hand and took Natalie's in his own. He looked at her offered hand, then in Natalie's eyes. Even in the dim lit room, Natalie's eyes seemed to sparkle. It soothed him. He gave her a weak smile before squeezing her hand lightly and then releasing it. He walked over to stand next to Randy at the front of the room.

"Now number three, would you please step forward." Randy said into the microphone.

As he did, Monk placed himself where he was directly in front of him. It was at that moment that Adrian Monk stared strait into the eyes of his family's killer. He felt as though he could dive strait through the glass in front of him and grasp his hands around that monster's neck. And none of his friends in the room with him would be at all surprised if he did do just that. But he didn't. Instead, he closed his eyes and turned away from the glass.

"And turn to your left please." Randy continued.

When Monk turned away from the wall his best friend was soon at his side. Stottlemeyer placed a hand on Adrian's shoulder. "You ok?"

Monk turned and looked hard at Leland, "Would you be?"

Stottlemeyer pinched his lips together and looked at the ground. He slowly shook his head no.

Monk sighed painfully and barely whispered "yeah." He then slowly walked over to stand next to Natalie again, and was pleased to find that her hand was soon joined with his…again.

"When do I get to tell them who did it?" Julie asked as Mr. Monk approached her and her mother.

"In just a minute." Monk replied in the young girl's ear.

It didn't take much longer before Randy was through calling on each of the six men. He turned to the girl, "For the record Ms. Teeger, Do you see the man that kidnapped you in the next room?"

"Yes I do." She replied in her best 'serious adult' voice.

"And for the record, which man is it?"

"Number three."

Randy wrote something down on a piece of paper and then pressed the button again. "All right boys, that will be all."

The six men then began to vacate the room the same way they came.

"Mom, can we go back to the hospital? I didn't get much sleep before and now I want to try again." Julie pleaded.

Natalie stroked her daughter's hair with a smile. "Sure," she said.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"Come on Monk, we've got Ryan Walters ready in the interrogation room." Stottlemeyer said as he greeted Adrian and Natalie at the door. They had just returned from taking Julie back to the hospital.

Monk tilted his head to the left and shook it lightly. "I don't think so."

"You don't think so?" Leland repeated. "Monk, you've been waiting years upon years to catch this guy! Now we've got him in the interrogation room and you don't want to talk to him! Adrian that man-!"

"I know what that man did, Leland!" Adrian said roughly before calming himself to continue. "Leland…if you put me in a room with that man………I'll kill him…I swear I will."

Stottlemeyer stared at his friend before nodding slowly, "Yeah…I know."

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Stottlemeyer and Randy stepped into room with Ryan Walters. "Evening, Ryan." Randy greeted.

Ryan gave him a glare, "Hey."

Natalie was once again holding Adrian's hand as they together watched the interrogation take place in the next room.

There was silence for a while before Stottlemeyer just came out with it. "Ryan, we know that you kidnapped Julie Teeger. Why don't you just give it up?"

"I don't know who you're talking about man. I don't know no Julie Teeger!"

Monk flinched slightly in annoyance with the man's use of a double negative, but chose to ignore it to the best of his ability.

"Oh that's right. No, you probably wouldn't know her by that name. We're told that you knew her by the names Rachel and or…Abraham Lincoln." Randy said.

The man stared at the table for a long time.

"Ryan," said Stottlemeyer, "we know you did it. Why don't you just confess?"

Ryan sighed a long defenseless sigh, "Alright! You win! Yeah, I kidnapped the girl."

"Why did you do it?"

"………I was paid to."

"Why?" Asked Randy.

Ryan sighed again, "If you're gonna know that you might as well know da rest too. He paid me to do it to cover up a job he had me do a couple years back."

"Which was?"

"He hired me do some woman in, a cop's wife, I think."

"Did he tell you why?"

"Na, man. He just told me when, where, who, and how much. So I made sure it was done. I paid a guy to make a bomb and I went by and planted it later. A couple years went past and I pretty much forgot about it,"

Tears streamed down Adrian's face as he listened to the confession. Natalie couldn't stop the few tears that also fell down her cheek as she also watched.

"then a couple of months ago, he called me up. Said that he had another job for me. I was up for it, he paid pretty good and I was in need of some cash so I told him I would do it. He said that he wanted me to kidnap some kid. When I asked him why he said that the feds were getting too close for comfort and he wanted to get them to back off. I was told to take this girl, hold her for a while, then call the police head honcho and demand that he call off the case."

"Who hired you?" Stottlemeyer asked.

There was a long pause. The kind of pause you think could last a lifetime. And to Monk, it nearly did. He stood there, as still as a statue. Not breathing…not blinking. Just…standing there. He waited and waited……..finally….

"His name is…"

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

REVIEW TO FIND OUT!


	17. the Name

This is the moment you guys have been so kindly waiting for! I think this is going to be the last chapter of the story. I may add another to put a better close on the romance side of the story, I don't know. Tell me if you want me to, ok? Give me some ideas.

Until then…on to the chapter!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Adrian Monk's eyes widened as the name was spoken from the other room. He immediately recognized the name. At that moment he knew who was responsible for the murder of his beloved wife (and child). He wasted no time, the moment he heard the name he turned his head to give Natalie a look saying 'I'm sorry but I have to go'. Natalie nodded with understanding and Monk quickly fled the room. Natalie followed knowing that he would need a ride.

The car ride was short and silent. Natalie knew what must have been going through his head, feelings of sorrow and relief all at the same time. She herself was experiencing mixed emotions as well. She could see the pain in his eyes and knew how hard this must be for him to take in. If there was one thing that she knew about Adrian Monk it was that he loved his wife very much, and to have all of these feeling and memories flooding back into the mind must be very hard for him. She also felt relieved at the same time. Sure it was hard, but Monk had been waiting for this moment for over ten…maybe eleven years! This was a moment well looked forward to. And she was glad that he was finally going to be released from what ever it was that held him captive.

As the car came to a halt, Adrian Monk slowly stepped out of the car. He stopped and stood in front of the familiar building and straitened his slightly off center shoulders. Then he took a deep breath…and slowly walked into the building. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He was now a man on a mission, a mission to track down this piece of slime and see to it that he pays for what he did.

He felt Natalie's presence behind him, being careful to keep her distance for she knew that he needed to be alone while he was doing this. He smiled on the inside at the thought that she would always be there for him and back off when he needed it. He stopped and let her catch up to him. Turning to face her he said, "Natalie, I'm going to need a moment or two alone with him before you come in, ok?"

She reached up and touched his cheek lightly, "I know," she nodded. "I'll wait for you."

He smiled before turning to continue his hasty walk towards the room that held the killer. He however stopped once more when he heard his name being called from behind him. He turned to see Stottlemeyer running up behind him.

"Adrian!" Leland yelled.

Monk faced him. "What?"

"Adrian I know that you're pretty ticked off right now…" The Captain began once he had caught his breath.

"Ticked off? No, that doesn't do it justice, Captain. Furiously struck with rage beyond mortal imagination is more like it!" Adrian said in a harsh whisper.

Stottlemeyer looked at the ground and sighed. "Listen, Adrian. I was in the place you're in once, remember?"

Monk sighed and nodded with eyes on the door separating him from Trudy's killer.

"Adrian, I remember what it felt like. I know what you want to do right now. And I'm telling you…as a friend…that hurting him is not the answer. Now I'm going to let you go in there and talk to him before we come in and hand him this," Stottlemeyer said waving the warrant for the man's arrest lightly in the air, "now is that man going to be alive when we go in there?" he asked.

Monk looked at him…and nodded before glancing at the door again.

Stottlemeyer also looked at the door and gave his friend a firm pat on the shoulder, "Alright…go then."

Monk looked back at Natalie and watched as Randy approached to stand by her. They both gave him a reassuring smile before he returned his gaze to the door and walked towards it. He grabbed the handle, closed his eyes, too a deep breath, and opened it to step inside.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"Ahh, if it isn't Adrian Monk: Crimes worst nightmare." The man said at the sight of Monk entering the room.

"Dale," Adrian greeted as he walked into the jail cell.

"So tell me Adrian, what did I do this time?" Dale Beiderbeck started, "perhaps I stole some priceless painting out of a world known museum, the Mona Lisa perhaps!" The fat man said as he began to shake with laughter.

Monk merely stared at the man with hate and said nothing.

"Oh come now Adrian, cat got your tongue?"

"Why did you do it?" Monk asked calmly.

"Do what? If you're asking about the Mona Lisa I have no idea who stole your painting. But really, you'll have to be more specific then that. I've done many things Mr. Monk."

"Why did you kill my wife?" Adrian asked, tears threatening to fall.

Beiderbeck's expression changed from mockery to that of shock. "I don't know what you talking about." He said in a much different voice.

"Don't lie to me Dale. Don't you dare lie to me! You've gotten away with this for too long! Now the truth comes out! Why did you kill my family!" Adrian yelled.

Beiderbeck was shocked at the volume this once quiet and timid man was now using with him. It startled him for a moment but he quickly regained his normally cheeky attitude and fired right back. "Family? The last time I checked it was merely your wife that was killed in that horrible accident. Was there another in the car?" Dale played back.

Monk's eyes slowly dropped at the thought. That was it…the tears came rolling down his face.

Adrian's reaction did not go unnoticed by any means. Dale tilted his head upward as if he had finally noticed something. "So there was? A child, perhaps?"

Adrian closed his eyes at the mention of his unborn child. The pain in his face was unmistakable as that of a mourning father. He felt so weak, he felt like falling to the ground right then in there. He grabbed a near-by chair to steady himself.

"She was pregnant" Dale tormented, "…….…and you probably didn't even know."

Adrian stared at the ground in pain.

"_tsk tsk tsk _Such horrible pain such accidents can cause." The fat man said as he shook his head in fake sympathy.

That was Dale's mistake. Monk steadied himself and literally transformed to from a pathetic waist to a strong man who knew when he was being taken advantage of "That was no accident!" He said with force. "You killed them!"

"But how can you know that, Adrian? You and I both know that you have been known to make rather unsettling accusations."

"My theories may be out of the box but have you ever seen me fail to put a guilty man in jail for what he did?"

The question was one that Dale, regretfully, could not argue. So instead, he changed the subject. "My point is, how can you prove it Monk!"

Monk stared him down, "I just heard a full confession from Mr. Walters…your accomplice."

Dale's eyes widened.

"Captain Stottlemeyer is standing outside this door ready to take you in." Monk finished.

"And exactly where do you plan to take me? As you can see, I am already in a jail cell. Where else can I go?"

"…Death row." Adrian said, with emotion pouring out from his eyes.

Dale simply stared at Adrian as the tears once again began to gather.

"I want an answer Dale…why did you kill them?" Adrian asked as calmly as he could.

Dale responded with a death glare as he tried his best to sit up. "I'm Dale Beiderbeck…I don't need a reason."

"I NEED A REASON!" Adrian shouted as his chin quivered and the tears once again began to fall.

Dale smiled at the pain he had cause and laid back once more. "Well sorry pal…cause you're not getting one."

Monk lunged at him and grasped his satin collar in his fists. "I have to have a reason." He assured, "if I don't…"

"You'll what?" Dale asked. "You'll kill me? By all means, Monk, go ahead. You'll be certain to do the rest of the world a favor by it. Wouldn't mind me much either. You see, I've lived my life; I've done the things I've wanted to do. And besides…it would mean an added bonus to me knowing that in doing so, you would have become that which you hate the most, and committed that which you daily dedicate your life to preventing. So go ahead, Monk. It would do my heart good knowing that in the end, you and I would die equals."

Monk stared at the man he had clenched at the neck. As much as he HATED to admit to it…what Beiderbeck said was the truth. He could hear the voices of Trudy, and Natalie, and Stottlemeyer all telling him to let go, to leave the room with clean hands. He had to…no matter how hard it was for him…it really was his only choice. So reluctantly, he roughly released his hold and Dale's heavy body went falling back onto the comfortable bed beneath him.

"Good man." Dale said as he straitened his collar.

Monk once again glared at him and walked over to open the door.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Stottlemeyer's, Randy's, and Natalie's attention all quickly landed in the doorway when it slowly started to sway open. Adrian Monk, with a tear stained face, slowly walked out and nodded to his Captain. Stottlemeyer, who in return, motioned for Randy to join him and both policemen entered the room with Dale the Whale.

Natalie approached Adrian slowly so as not to startle him. "Adrian?" she asked, "Are you going to be ok?"

He nodded slowly, "yeah, I think so. It's just that…that was really hard." Tears again began to follow their usual paths down his face.

She couldn't resist it anymore. Natalie closed the distance between the two of them and threw her arms around the man in front of her. Adrian accepted the hug gratefully. He, in turn, wrapped his arms around her and let her comfort him.

She let him cry into her shoulder as long as he needed before saying, "Adrian? I want you to know…that I am very proud of you, ok? You finally did it." She pulled away from him to look into his eyes. "Adrian…I love you…and I'm proud of you…don't you ever forget that." She said as she leaned in and gave him a quick (but meaningful) kiss.

He smiled weakly and returned her gesture.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Ok I take it back…this was by far the HARDEST chapter I have EVER written in my life. I felt so horrible writing this. Even in fiction, I hate seeing Monk go through pain (most especially if I am the one writing it).

I really wish to know what you thought about this chapter. Did I disappoint you? I feel like I might have. Please tell me what you thought.

--Monker


	18. Always being there

I know it's a little short but this is basically the epilogue (its time for the epilogue, the epilogue, the epilogue, its time for the epilogue, the ep-i-logue! …. Don't ask…its an inside- joke) so it really doesn't need to be that long. Never the less, I hope you enjoy it.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Monk sat quietly on the comfortable couch in Natalie's living room. His mind was still racing over yesterday's events. All in one day…Julie was found, Adrian gained a girl-friend, Ryan Walters was not only caught but also gave a full confession, and Trudy's murder was solved. Adrian rubbed his temples…he was ready for some sleep. He and Natalie had been at the hospital practically all day with Julie, and he was certainly due for a nap. Truth be told, he wouldn't have minded had he fallen asleep right then and there.

Monk looked at his watch, it was going on two in the morning. It had only been five minutes but it seemed like he had been sitting there for forever. Natalie said that she had wanted to tuck Julie in for the night. Normally it wasn't something she did because her daughter was now in her early teens, but Natalie said that she wanted to do it tonight because it was her daughter's first night home again. Monk understood and agreed to wait in the living room until she returned.

He once again rubbed his temples, then his eyes. He sighed before feeling a familiar hand on his shoulder. He smiled at the touch but didn't open his eyes. He moved his hand to his shoulder and took the soft hand in his. Opening his eyes he said, "Hello Trudy."

She chuckled softly, "How did you know it was me?"

"I would know your touch anywhere."

She smiled while she moved to sit in his lap. Adrian welcomed her position happily. "You look sleepy."

He nodded, "I am…I had a long day."

Trudy brought her hand up to play with his hair and nodded for him to continue.

"Trudy…I know who killed you."

"I know." She said simply.

"I don't know what to do. I don't know how to spend the rest of my life."

"What did Natalie suggest?" She asked as she leaned in and kissed his forehead.

"She said that I should live my life the way I've always wanted to…but I don't know how to do that. I don't know how to live a free life."

She smiled, "Something tells me it wont take you long to learn."

He returned her smile.

"Adrian?" she began with a different tone of voice.

"Yes?"

"This is going to be the last time you see me like this."

Monk's expression resembled that of a little boy confused as to why he is being put into timeout. "What? Why?"

"Because, you've solved the case Adrian. This is your closure honey. You don't need me to comfort you like this anymore."

"I can't do this without you, Trudy" he pleaded.

She smiled, " Yes you can. Now you have Natalie." She said as she gently stroked his cheek.

Adrian's expression changed slightly. A small smile formed on his face, "That's true," he said.

"She's good for you Adrian. She'll help you."

He nodded. "But…do you really have to go?"

She smiled softly and leaned in to kiss him one last time. "You'll be fine." She said quietly.

And with that…she was gone. Adrian, once again, was alone in the silent room. He heard a stirring from the doorway and knew it was Natalie. She came and sat next to him on the couch. He turned his head and smiled at her.

"What a day, huh." she said with a sigh.

He didn't say anything; instead he stared at her contently and reached to place a hand on the side of her face. She flinched ever so slightly, she still had to get used to him openly touching her like that. Normally he wouldn't even consider making such contact…but somehow…Natalie had managed to make that change in him. And she was glad that she did.

He brought his face slightly closer and looked at her to see if it was ok. She smiled and nodded in acceptance. He came closer still and placed a small kiss on the corner of her mouth. "Thank you, Natalie." He whispered.

"For what?" she asked, matching his volume.

"For always being there for me." He brought a hand up and brushed a stay strand of hair back into its normal position.

Natalie smiled and shook her head lightly "Adrian," she said, "after all that has happened…I think I should be the one doing all the thanking. You gave me back my daughter. And…no matter how hard you try…you will never know how grateful I am for that…" then stroking his cheek lightly she added, "…for you." She closed the distance between them and kissed him gently, yet firmly all at the same time.

Adrian couldn't help but smile. Who on earth would have suspected him to be so fortunate? As far as he was concerned, he was the luckiest man in the world, living or dead.

Natalie pulled away at the feeling of his lips curl upward. "What?"

Monk smiled as he shook his head, "Nothing," he said, "just you."

Natalie returned his smile and scooted down to where she could comfortably rest her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her as he held her to him. He leaned his head backward and rested it on the back of the couch. He lovingly stroked her hair as she cuddled a little closer.

Trudy was right…Natalie was good for him. He had no doubts about that now.

The End 

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

There you go folks, that's the end of it. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it. I really don't know what my next move is going to be, nor do I know when it is going to be…but I can assure you that you will be hearing more from me as a writer.

Author: Monker

Editor: Ally

Special Thanks to: ExhibitQ, Sarah, Alex, Rachel, Ally, and all of those who read and reviewed for their great ideas and support.

Thank you guys SO much for reviewing, and I say this honestly, I kept writing this because of all of the great reviews I received. HURRAY, we made it to 100 reviews! That's a record for me! Maybe we could get a few more for this chapter, heh?

God Bless, Monker


End file.
